<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Boy Who Lived (Actually, Though) by rootedinsunlight</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28247601">The Boy Who Lived (Actually, Though)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rootedinsunlight/pseuds/rootedinsunlight'>rootedinsunlight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Camping, Canon Compliant, Friendship, Happy Harry Potter, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry potter is happy, Inspired by ATYD, Love, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Canon, Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Post-Hogwarts, atyd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:28:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,731</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28247601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rootedinsunlight/pseuds/rootedinsunlight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>July 1998. The Second Wizarding War is over. Voldemort is dead. Life is normal, and Harry Potter and his friends are slowly healing from the wounds and losses of the dark times they recently escaped. </p><p>Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Dean, Seamus, Lavender, Parvati, Luna, and Neville decide to go camping in Cornwall (just as the Marauders did in MsKingBean89's AO3 fanfiction, "All The Young Dudes"). They grow closer than ever and explore love, friendship, growth, healing while having a summer filled with ordinary teenage fun—drinking, dancing, general stupidity. The Boy Who Lived finally getting his chance to live, not just survive. </p><p>We accept the joy we think we deserve, and Harry is finally realizing he deserves it all.</p><p>This is going to be HAPPY.</p><p>[finished]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Lavender Brown/Parvati Patil, Seamus Finnigan/Dean Thomas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>167</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>289</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Idea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welcome! This chapter is a bit of a prologue to the actual camping trip, and is set in July 1998 on the day they decide to go on the trip. Content warning for mentions of grief and major character death (Fred).</p><p>The two songs I associate with this fic: <br/>“Young Hearts Run Free” by Candi Staton (mostly because they dance to it in a later chapter and I listened to it obsessively while writing this)<br/>“Don’t Look Back in Anger” by Oasis (thank you to emdog04 for recommending!)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Sunlight streamed through the big windows next to his bed, lighting the room up in pale white. Harry opened his eyes softly, looking at the blurred ceiling, and then let them fall shut again, laying very still as his heart thudded rapidly. He could hear angry chirping outside. It always sounded angry to him, anyway, but Ginny thought that assessment was hilarious. </p><p>    “People usually find birds chirping to be peaceful and melodic, you dummy!” she had said teasingly when he pointed it out. “But they sound a bit mad to me too..” </p><p>    For a few moments now, he tried not to move. He found himself doing this every morning. It was a sort of test, he had realized a few days ago. Some mornings, he lay there and imagined that he is at Privet Drive, moments away from being shrieked at to come watch the eggs on the stove. This day, he imagined himself in the Forest of Dean. Hermione must be a few feet away, probably awake already with her head in a book. And Ron—Ron is gone, maybe dead. His stomach feels bottomless. He can almost hear Hermione pick up the wireless radio, and the fuzzy noise interspersed with snatches of voices from her attempts at tuning in to the right frequency. The war didn’t end, he told himself. Voldemort is out there. People are going missing, people are dying. And he better get up, because it’s up to him to figure a way out. Once he’s done laying these facts out in his mind, he knows he can wake up. It was a routine he punished himself with every morning, because it at least prepared him for the possibility that all of the wonderful things—the end of the war, the end of Voldemort—was a dream. </p><p>    His eyes were still closed. Harry was so, so afraid to open them and a small voice in his head mocked him for it. The voice next to him was much kinder. Ginny nuzzled her face to Harry’s shoulder, curled up next to him.</p><p>    “You’re safe, Harry.” </p><p>    A great, overwhelming feeling spread across his chest, like he is about to cry. Instead, he sharply exhaled as he opened his eyes and turned his face to look at her. She smiled fondly at him, her vivid hair strewn across the gray pillowcase. </p><p>    “You’re safe. The war is over. Voldemort is gone. And,” she kissed him hard on the mouth, “I -” (another kiss) “love” (another kiss) “you” (a long kiss). She pulled away and scrunched up her nose at him. “And your breath stinks.”</p><p>    She rolled away and sprung off the bed with a live energy he had never seen from anyone else moments after waking up. He beamed at her, reaching for his glasses on the bedside table. </p><p>    “Plans for today?” she called as she headed into the bathroom. </p><p>    He made a noncommittal humming sort of sound and sat up, stretching his back before pulling the henley T-shirt next to him on. It’s maroon and has bits of toothpaste near the collar. </p><p>    “The usual, I suppose.” he said reluctantly. “Breakfast, check in on Teddy through the fire, mess about with Ron, lunch, Quidditch, second lunch…” </p><p>    Ginny laughed. </p><p>    “Sounds like a bloody good day to me, Potter! I’m going to wreck you today, by the way. I’ve been practicing a new feint, it’s in that book Luna sent me last week.” </p><p>    “You wish, Ginevra.” </p><p>    She poked her head out, a toothbrush in her hand and foam around her lips, to stick a tongue out at him. Harry padded over to where she’s standing in front of the sink and watched her in the mirror for a few minutes. She put her hair in a coil at the nape of her neck, and she caught his eye in the reflection and grinned, mouth still full of toothpaste. After she rinsed, she stuck the toothbrush in the plastic cup emblazoned with an advertisement for “Carlotta Cariad’s Cough Drops” in a spiky script. She yawned widely and he mirrored her, and they both laughed softly, standing with their arms looped around each other. It is quiet in a nice way. Like it is every day. He found it very hard to sit still in the days immediately after the war, the long stretches of leisure available to him unbearably stifling. He found that it got easier day by day. </p><p>    “Fancy a shower?” she blurted, eyes wide like she’s let a secret slip. He cracked up. </p><p>    “You go ahead, I’m going to head down,” Harry kissed her on the cheek. Ginny made an if-you-say-so sort of face and headed into the bathroom with a fluffy towel. Harry looked at himself in the mirror. His face was fuller, a result of being fed well by the marvelous Molly Weasley. He looked well-rested, too. He made a futile attempt to smooth his hair down and then brushed his teeth. The shower was still running by the time he was done, so he headed out of the room, shutting the door behind him. Standing on the landing, he breathed in the unmistakable cinnamon scent of Mrs. Wealsey’s french toast sticks and heard his stomach growl. The hallways were mostly quiet as he made his way downstairs, but he could hear muffled conversation and faint music coming from the kitchen. He paused at the landing with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley’s room on it. The door was cracked open, and he was pretty sure nobody was inside. He poked his head in quickly. The big bed was made up neatly, the flowered bedspread primly tucked into place. Two sleeping bags, socks, and shoes were strewn across the floor with much less neatness. He smiled to himself. George and Percy were as messy as ever. He wondered if the Weasleys didn’t mind their sons still sleeping on their bedroom floor, a month later. The new sleeping arrangement had happened in a peculiar, quiet way after they all came back to the Burrow. George and Percy insisted that Mrs. Weasley needed them there, but Ron reckoned that it was much more mutually beneficial than that. Harry reckoned that everybody felt safer this way. Harry shut the door lightly and took the stairs two at a time.He skidded into the wing of the kitchen with the table—literally, because his socks were slippery on the newly remodeled floor of the Burrow and he liked to use it to his advantage—and found Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fleur, and George discussing Quidditch plays with their mouths full. Well, Bill, Charlie, Fleur, and George discussed the plays. Percy had been trying to learn more about the sport and so spent much of these conversations looking back and forth between his siblings, trying to get a word in occasionally. Percy shot Harry a warm and bewildered smile now.</p><p>    “Wotcher, Harry!” Charlie waved. </p><p>    “Hello.” Harry said. He grabbed a French toast stick off George’s dish and stuffed it into his mouth. George began to protest, and then settled for a shove into Harry’s side. “Ron and Hermione haven’t come down yet?” </p><p>    Mrs. Weasley appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. </p><p>    “Good morning, Harry!” she came over and hugged Harry tightly. Her hands were still damp, but he didn’t mind. She hugged him a lot nowadays. It was nice. She pulled away, examining his face and attempting to pat his hair down. “They aren’t up yet, can you get them to come down, dear? Ginny, too? I don’t want to keep spelling the sticks hot again, they get a bit stale.” </p><p>    He nodded and grabbed another stick off George’s plate. George looked to the ceiling in mock-dismay and shook his fist. </p><p>    “Why me, I ask? Why hath the Boy Who Lived stolen <em> my </em> provisions, of all those at this table? Hmm?” He was doing a very good imitation of Snape if he had been from the Victorian era. Everyone laughed, even Mrs. Weasley. </p><p>    “What plans today, Harry?” Bill asked good-naturedly. Harry pushed his glasses up on his nose. “The usual?” </p><p>    Harry felt a small flutter of panic, the one that accompanied him every time he thought about how mundane his life was becoming. The sense of routine, of normalcy—it felt very close to complacency. The panic faded, though, and he nodded at Bill. </p><p>    “Good man!” Bill said. Bill was always saying things like that, and he sounded cool saying them, too. Mrs. Weasley approached him again, handing him a plate stacked high with French toast sticks. She put her hands on her hips and tilted her head down.</p><p>    “Oh, why don’t you all go enjoy them upstairs, then, let everyone lay in a bit longer.” She said this with a tone of faux-disappointment, but winked at Harry. Harry thanked her and slid across the floor to go back up the stairs. “And clean up any mess you make!” Mrs Weasley called after him. Harry made an affirmative noise, his mouth too full to answer</p><p> </p><p>    After he told Ginny he’d be in Ron’s room with breakfast, he headed upstairs another level and knocked lightly on his best friend’s door. </p><p>    “Mmmmph. Come in.” </p><p>    Ron was prone to say anything when he was half-asleep, so Harry didn’t move.</p><p>    “Are you sure? Are you both decent?” Harry asked suspiciously.</p><p>    “Yes, yes, I’ve been up for a bit.” Hermione’s voice came out much more clearly, so Harry pushed the door open with confidence and stuck half his body through. Hermione was sitting up on the bed in a bright green jumper, still halfway under the covers. She had one arm splayed out and Ron’s head lay on it. In her other arm was a book, though Harry was pleased to see that it looked like a novel, not a textbook. Ron flashed Harry a bleary grin. Harry saw that he was shirtless and a suspicious purple splotch decorated his neck. Harry averted his eyes, quietly vowing to bring it up later, preferably in front of Bill, Charlie, or George.  </p><p>    “All good, Harry?” Ron asked. He rubbed his face harshly and then squinted at Harry. His eyes widened at the mountain of food on the plate and he sat up abruptly. Hermione drew her arm back from behind him and looked at the food with interest too. </p><p>    “Yum. Your mum makes the best food, Ron. My mum thinks sugar is going to rot my teeth.” Hermione stretched her arm out towards the food. He set the plate down at the foot of the bed and sank to the ground beside it comfortably, resting his head against the wall. </p><p>    “What do you mean, sugar rot your teeth?” Ron asked, bewildered. Hermione was in the middle of explaining Muggle dentistry when Ginny barged in, cackling at Ron’s furious expression as she stole a French toast stick right out of Ron’s fingers with a murmured spell. She blew a kiss to Hermione and grabbed a spare pillow off of the bed and set it on the ground to sit on. They all chewed happily in silence for a few minutes, Ron making occasional sounds of contentment that Hermione rolled her eyes at. Ginny and Hermione began discussing what might happen next on the Royle Family, the television show they were all watching together. Harry had been all too happy to buy the Weasleys a telly, and then a second one after Mr. Weasley took the first one apart. A couple weeks ago, Bill had been scrolling through channels and happened upon the FIFA World Cup match between England and Argentina, and the Weasley family had all but lost their minds. Ron couldn’t stop sniggering when a player was injured (“They’re on the <em> ground. </em>Honestly, if the Chudley Cannons made such a fuss every time someone fell off their broom, the matches would be too long to watch!”) All in all, the telly had been a good purchase, although Harry wondered if it was slowly rotting their brains as Mrs. Weasley was prone to muttering about. </p><p>    “Oh, Harry,” Ron interrupted his thoughts, “I meant to tell you. Bill, Fleur, and Charlie will be leaving this weekend. I think George is going to go off with Charlie for a bit.” </p><p>    “What? Already?” Harry supposed they had been back in their family’s home for a while now. After the Battle of Hogwarts, they had all headed to the Burrow. </p><p>    “We need to be together as a family. Grieving alone isn’t grieving at all.” Mrs. Weasley had said sternly, when Fleur asked if she wouldn’t be too much of a bother to have around. Harry and Hermione had wondered if they would be interrupting, but Mrs. Weasley had gotten very angry at that assumption. “You <em> are </em>family!”</p><p>    Hermione looked up at Harry now, hearing his and Ron’s conversation.</p><p>    “Well, it has been a while. I’m going to miss having Fleur around though, but her and Bill are definitely starting to feel a bit crowded here,” Hermione said knowingly. Ron nodded. </p><p>    Harry looked around Ron’s violently orange room, thinking. With Bill, Fleur, and Charlie gone, the house would be even quieter. Percy spent all his time with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, clearly trying to mend their relationship. Harry and Ron even caught him helping Mr. Weasley tinker with a refrigerator once. They goggled at the scene with their jaws dropped. Percy caught their glances and flushed deeply, but tossed his head and turned back to the Muggle contraption. </p><p>    “Percy, breaking rules. Who would’ve thought! Fred would be beaming proud!” Ron had said wondrously as they walked back to the Burrow. </p><p>    “So. What are <em>we</em> going to do? I want to <em> do </em>something.” Ginny sighed, sprawling down on the ground. Hermione reached up to tie her thick hair into a ponytail. </p><p>    “Blimey, Ginny, you’re mad. We’re <em> relaxing, </em>this is supposed to be nice.” Ron scratched his head. </p><p>    “And it <em> is </em>nice. But what if we relaxed somewhere else?” Ginny propped her chin up with her hand.</p><p>    “Like a holiday?” Harry asked curiously. Ginny shrugged a maybe. </p><p>They sat in comfortable silence, thinking about the potential of a holiday. </p><p>    “Well, I <em> have </em>been thinking..” Ron trailed off. </p><p>    “That’s new.” Harry added. He dodged a pillow thrown at his head. </p><p>    “Anyway, Mum was telling me that your dad, Harry, went camping with all his mates the summer before their seventh year. Before things were dangerous with the First War. To Cornwall, I think.” </p><p>Harry looked at his hands. Camping in Cornwall. Like his dad and his mates. He didn’t know quite how to feel about it. </p><p>    “It might be fun, right? Camping? We could ask the others, too. Dean, Seamus, Neville, Parvati, Luna..” Ron asked, hesitantly. They all waited for Harry’s response.</p><p>Harry felt the familiar lurch in his stomach that accompanied thoughts of having fun. For so long, he had assumed that he was just meant to have death follow him wherever he went. He had never considered that he would be worthy of this, of joy and friendship and love without grief and darkness and loss. He bit his lip and looked up. His three best friends looked back at him. There was no trace of pity on their faces, just patience. He felt a warm rush of love for them flood him. </p><p>    “Let’s do it.” Harry grinned. Ginny and Ron let out whoops and Hermione beamed. They all began planning the trip in a flurry of excitement. Ron, Ginny, and Harry were particularly interested in how they could get their hands on some liquor. </p><p>    “George will help, but he’ll probably make me do something in return..” Ron mused. “And Ginny, you’re only sixteen, you can’t have any.” </p><p>Ginny bellowed a furious response at this. She was just in the middle of protesting that she was going to be seventeen in a few weeks, and that Ron had definitely gotten drunk when he was sixteen, when Hermione’s voice rose above the rest of the noise. </p><p>    “Hey, hey, okay, but I have a proposition” Hermione smirked slyly. “We do this Muggle style. No magic. If you think you can manage that, Weasleys.” </p><p>    Another flurry of conversation and noise erupted at that—Ron and Ginny bristled at the implication that they couldn’t manage without magic, Harry wanted to know whether using a Summoning charm on fish in the sea counted (“Of course it does, Harry, don’t be daft”), Hermione reckoned that they would have to leave the no-magic detail out when getting permission from Mrs. Weasley—but at the end of all the discussion, the plan was in place. Ginny jumped up to get some parchment, and they began writing invitations to their friends.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Preparations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Short chapter. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny finish packing for their trip. Mrs. Weasley brings them some photographs.<br/>Camping will start next chapter, I promise!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>All the credit for the camping idea as well as the details about who went and what the dynamic was like come from MsKingBean89, who has written the marvelous work that is "All The Young Dudes" on AO3.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I hope that’s everything,” Hermione said. Her hair was pinned up but strands of it had come loose all over the place, giving her a frizzy halo. She surveyed Ron’s bedroom, which had two rucksacks, two duffel bags, three broomsticks, and a towering stack of books. She turned to attempt to zip Ginny’s duffel bag shut again. </p><p>“Oh <em> no </em>,” said Harry. </p><p>“What?!” Hermione whirled around, hand to her mouth.</p><p>“I don’t think we have <em> quite </em>enough books. We might fail our Year 8 exams.” Harry said, deadpan. </p><p>Hermione reached over to swat him on the backside of his head. She turned to Ron, who had curled up on the sofa, studiously examining a legal pad filled with Hermione’s loopy handwriting. He had spent the past hour rifling through all the bags </p><p>“Well? Ron?” she asked, her voice a little shaky. </p><p>
  <span>Ron looked up, a concerned look on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well…I suppose the answer is yes, we’ve got everything..” Ron trailed off. Hermione’s brows furrowed, and she made a motion with her hands for him to go on. He bit his lip guiltily, like he didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news. “But Hermione, I think you’ve overestimated! We have the four of us, plus Neville, Luna, Dean, Parvati, and Seamus. We need five tents, but you’ve packed six. Nine beach chairs, but you’ve packed ten. The numbers aren’t adding up. But don’t worry, Hermione, we can summon them out and then I’ll ask Dad if he can’t return them. He’s been interested in Muggle return policies anyway!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione’s cheeks had pinked, and she sat on the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The numbers aren’t wrong,” she said, fidgeting with the edge of the bedspread. “I asked someone else to come.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ginny looked up from her sketchbook in interest. She had been doing funny caricatures of each of them. She was doing Harry’s now, making cartoonishly large ears pop out from the sides of a tiny pair of round glasses.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who?” asked Harry curiously.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“LavenderBrown.” Hermione said, very quickly, sneaking a glance at Ron. Ron spluttered in confusion, his ears going red. “Oh Ron, come on, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> relationship feels like ages ago. And Lavender's with Parvs now. We- I wasn’t very kind to Lavender then, and anyway, she’s actually quite kind and funny. Ginny and I get along with her. I know you two didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>speak </span>
  </em>
  <span>very much, but..” Hermione and Ginny were giggling, though Ron was still flushed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That sounds..interesting.” Harry supplied. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermione was still looking over at Ron, nervously. He leaned forward and squeezed her hand. They shared a very watery, sappy look. Harry cleared his throat. Hermione shook her head quickly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So anyways, Lavender and Parvati will share. Luna insists on sleeping alone, because she has been infected by something called Razzling Zillows—Harry, don’t laugh, you arse, she’s been right about a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span> of things— and Neville likes to have his own space anyway,” Hermione finished.</span>
</p><p>“Likes his own space, my arse. Snores like an elephant, that one. Kicks too, from the sound of it.” Ron snorted, catching Harry’s eye and grinning. </p><p>“So that’s it, then. We’re all set to head out tomorrow morning. We’ll all Apparate to the location you found directly, right?” Harry asked, rolling his neck to get a crick out. </p><p>Hermione nodded briskly. “Yes, that’s right. And I’ve finally finished the timetables for the week. I have all our meals mapped out, as well as excursions, rest, and travel.” She strode over to Ron’s tiny bedside table and opened the drawer, grabbing a stack of papers. “Can’t forget about the schedules!” </p><p>Harry and Ginny looked at Hermione, and then each other, widening their eyes and stifling laughs. Ron was gazing at her wondrously. </p><p>“Blimey, Hermione, you’re amazing!” Ron shook his head slowly. Hermione just shrugged, smiling. There was a knock at the door, and a chorus of “come-in”s. Mrs. Weasley stuck her head in, her hair in rollers. </p><p>“Mum! What are you curling your hair for?” Ginny’s jaw dropped. Mrs. Weasley pinked a little, and touched the rollers a bit self-consciously.</p><p>“Well, you’ll all be gone tomorrow, and your father and I are going to have a date night! Dancing, drinks, the works. A quiet one, mind you, but we thought it might be nice…”</p><p>“That sounds lovely, Mrs. Weasley. You’re going to look wonderful. Take pictures!” Hermione exclaimed. The rest of them nodded in agreement. Mrs. Weasley looked very pleased and smiled around at them for a minute, looking at each of their faces in turn. </p><p>“Er..Mum?” Ron asked, and Mrs. Weasley came back to herself, putting her hand to her chest as if she just remembered what she had come in for. </p><p>“I just wanted to make sure the packing was getting on alright.” </p><p>“We just finished,” Ron informed her. </p><p>“Lovely. You know, I am so glad you all are doing this.” Mrs. Weasley’s eyes fell on Harry, and softened. She reached into the front pocket of her apron and came into the room to hand a very small stack of black-and-white photographs to Harry. Then she stepped back. “It says 1977 on the back, which makes sense. Me and Arthur had gone over to the Potters’—to your grandparents’, Harry—for tea, and your father wasn’t home. Euphemia told me about their camping trip to Cornwall. Right after their sixth year, I think. James, Remus, Sirius, Mary MacDonald, Marlene McKinnon..what a golden group.” She had skimmed over Peter Pettigrew’s name, but Harry didn’t even notice. He was looking at the first photograph, his heart pounding. A young Remus Lupin had clearly taken the photograph with the camera turned around, his long arm outstretched in front of him. Professor Lupin’s face was only half-captured in the corner of the lens, his lips quirked up. He turned behind him, smiling, to Sirius and James, who were dramatically posing back-to-back next to a fire and grinning devilishly at the camera. James’s hands were stretched out, his fingers wiggling dramatically like he was introducing a Muggle magic act. Peter Pettigrew was posing, too, hands on his hips, looking from the camera to James and chuckling nervously. Harry hungrily looked at the photo for a few seconds, wishing he could reach in and grab his father’s outstretched hand, and that he would be pulled into the scene in front of him. </p><p>Harry passed that photo along and looked at the next one. This one was of James and Lily sitting by the beach, wrapped in one towel and pressed together. Harry realized, with a jarring feeling, that he was older now than his parents were in this picture. James was looking at Lily with a wide, hopeful smile on his face. His hair was the neatest Harry had ever seen it, possibly because it was wet and stuck to his forehead. His mother’s hair was darker, wet too, and she was laughing so hard she was crying. She reached up to wipe her eyes, and Harry felt himself smiling even though he didn’t know the joke. He passed this one along too, and got to the last photo. </p><p>Someone else must have taken this photo, because it was a group that beamed at the camera, sitting on patchy grass. The first thing Harry noticed was just how happy everybody looked. The second, that all the faces were labelled. Harry looked from left to right. Sirius, winking at Harry in a leather jacket with the collars upturned and no shirt on underneath. Lupin next to him, in a long-sleeve tee, his head resting on Sirius’s shoulder and a sleepy smile on his face. A cigarette hung from his fingers, and Sirius kept trying to grab it sneakily. Lily next to a blonde girl labelled Marlene, their cheeks pressed together as they smiled at the camera, eyes crinkled. Next was Peter, who was grinning happily at the camera with his hand clasped in that of a girl Harry didn’t recognize, who had brown skin and a kind expression (Dorcas, according to the label). And then a very pretty black girl, labelled Mary, who posed for the camera with the casual flair of someone who knows how pretty they are. Mary kept breaking her pose to lean across the row to shout something to Marlene and Lily, who’d both erupt in giggles. Harry watched the photograph for a few minutes, feeling he would never get tired of it, and then passed it along. The photos all found their way back to Harry, who laid them in his lap.</p><p>“You know, I’ve been racking my brains trying to remember if Euphemia had mentioned a specific place in Cornwall, and then I finally remembered I had these photos stowed away. I wish I had found them earlier! But now you could—you could try to Apparate to the same spot, if you’d like.” Mrs. Weasley rubbed her chin thoughtfully.</p><p>“I think I can get us there off of that last photo,” Hermione mused. </p><p>Harry’s stomach felt fluttery, and he looked at Ginny. She nodded encouragingly at him. </p><p>“Let’s do it then, let’s camp in the same area.” Harry said. There was a chorus of hoorays. Hermione, however, was wringing her hands. </p><p>“Okay, last minute change of plans. The rest of the group doesn’t know about this location. So...so…” Hermione looked down at her stack of schedules as if the answer lay in them. Ron jumped in helpfully. </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll give Errol and Pig and Mira extra treats and send letters out to Luna and Neville. It’s, what, six now so they should get them before tomorrow morning. We were only supposed to Apparate at ten, anyway. And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>Seamus has a telephone at home, so I’ll go call him in a minute. He can get the word to Dean, I’m sure. And I’m certain Parvati’s parents have gotten their fireplace approved by the Ministry Task Force on Higher-Security Post-War Floo Networks already, so we can talk to her through the fire downstairs.” </span>
</p><p>Hermione beamed at Ron.</p><p>Mrs. Weasley dusted her hands then, looking again at all of them, smiling warmly.</p><p>“Well, then. It’s settled. Don’t be up too late, you’ve got to go down to get rain parkas at the shop, right?” </p><p>They agreed in unison and wished her a good night. When the door clicked behind her and the sound of her footsteps quietened, Ginny giggled. </p><p>“<em> Rain parkas. </em>Poor Mum. She would faint if she knew we were meeting up with George and Lee to get the drinks.” </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Point of Magic and the Art of Tent-Pitching</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry and Dean help out. Tents are pitched, owing to the blood, sweat, and tears of Ron Weasley (just kidding, just sweat). Harry catches up with his friends. Camping begins.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Camping commences! Content warning for the briefest mention of homophobia, and for a moment at the beginning where Harry has a trauma response to a scream.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>   Harry grimaced at the unpleasant sensation of being pressed into a very tight space, shutting his eyes instinctively as the Apparition took hold. When he opened his eyes, he was by the beach. He felt fairly sure that he wasn’t where he was supposed to be. For one, he couldn’t see any of his friends. For another, a very orange lifeguard was inches away from his face, his jaw open at Harry’s appearance and headphones wound around his neck. Harry stared back, unsure what to do. </p><p>   “Er..” he stammered. </p><p>   “How- what-” the lifeguard was stammering, too. </p><p>   “I ran from the other side of this beach,” Harry offered, on a whim. “I run very fast. Best in...on this side of the hemisphere.” </p><p>   The lifeguard’s eyes widened even further.</p><p>   “Holy smokes. Never seen anything like that.”</p><p>   Harry stepped back a little, fingering the wand in the pocket of his jacket, and thought <em> confundo.  </em></p><p>   The lifeguard seemed to become very interested in a spot far off in the distance and hurried off, murmuring something incomprehensible and giving Harry a dreamy smile. Harry exhaled and looked around him. Golden sand surrounded him for miles around, shining amber in the noon sun. Soft waves lapped at the earth eagerly, and one Muggle couple was standing at the edge of the water, holding hands. It would have all been a very beautiful scene, except for the horrible smell in the air and the mountains of garbage that littered the whole span of the beach. The water—Harry wished that he had paid more attention to his geography lessons in primary school, because he has no idea if it was an ocean or a lake—might have been a brilliant blue once, but it was tinged a murky brown that the Muggles seemed to be trying to ignore. Harry felt a pang in his chest. He had never gone to the beach before, and had been really hoping that he could stand at the edge of the water and feel seawater on his toes during this trip. </p><p>   Harry saw a cluster of boulders ahead of him and headed towards them, his sneakers sinking into the ground a little with each step. He examined them and sat atop one of the larger, flatter ones, his feet dangling just a little. He shut his eyes. The hush of the water, the screech of a seagull, the lifeguard’s humming in the distance. He couldn’t be too far from the campsite, he ventured. It felt nice to sit here for a second, before he joined the others. They had decided to Apparate separately to avoid the weight of their collective luggage making things complicated, and he had left earlier than Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. He had always felt comfort in being alone—it was, after all, how he had spent eleven years of his life. Harry’s mind wandered. Camping. Him. He felt the irrational anger directed towards himself for agreeing to this plan rise again. Laying in bed last night, he had realized something that felt very meaningful, suddenly: he had been camping <em> before </em>, hadn’t he? There was the Quidditch World Cup, but that felt so far away. The months they spent the previous year in the woods were what stood out most starkly. He, Hermione, and Ron in that tent, with the end of the world just outside its flaps. Golden glinting at their necks, bellies never full, red-rimmed eyes and hoarse throats, Splinched arms. That was what camping had meant. It had felt like sitting idle while darkness approached him, trampling his loved ones in its path. </p><p>   Harry heard a sudden scream from near him and jolted, at his feet in seconds with his wand out. He barely felt himself move as he ran towards the couple. He stopped about ten feet away from them, his heart stuttering in his chest. He realized dimly that they had been laughing, shrieking laughter at a piece of seaweed that had gotten stuck on the woman’s foot. They barely noticed him. He staggered backwards and forced himself to take deep breaths. A sudden <em> pop </em>came from behind him and he whirled around, pointing his wand at a bewildered Dean Thomas. A beat, and then Harry lowered his wand. He attempted a shaky laugh. </p><p>   “Alright, Harry?” </p><p>   “Yeah, sorry, I just thought...I dunno…”</p><p>   Dean’s gaze was steady as he nodded, his deep eyes serious. </p><p>   “I know. It happens,” Dean said. He stretched languorously as Harry put his wand away and apologized again. “Well, mate, it’s good to see you!” </p><p>Dean pulled him into a hug and Harry grinned despite himself. When Harry pulled away, Dean looked around at the beach and recoiled, cringing. </p><p>   “What the hell happened to this place?”</p><p>   “You’ve been here?” Harry said, startled. </p><p>   “Yeah, when I was really little, with my family. It was gorgeous, barely any rubbish. I actually Apparated here on purpose, thought I’d walk up to the campsite.” </p><p>   “Pretty vile now.” </p><p>   Dean hummed in agreement and paced around Harry, studying the landscape. The couple was leaving, and the beach was even uglier deserted. Dean turned to Harry suddenly, his eyes shining. </p><p>   “Harry! Let’s clean it up!” </p><p>Harry stared.</p><p>   “You want us to clean the pollution up?”</p><p>Dean shrugged a <em> why-not </em>and clarified, “At least some of it, you know?” </p><p>“We don’t have trash bags or gloves or anything…” Harry looked at Dean bewilderedly.</p><p>Dean slapped a hand to his forehead.</p><p>   “Ah, right, <em> trash bags. </em>Because we definitely don’t have other ways to clean stuff up. C’mon, Harry, it can’t be all empty up there.” Dean knocked on his own temple. </p><p>   “Right! Right. Scouring Charms, then. A lot of them. Lots of concentration too, I suppose.” Harry got his wand out, still a little hesitant.</p><p>   The two of them split up and walked down the length of the beach in different directions, murmuring <em> Scourgify </em>as they went. Harry must have done it two hundred times, at least, wand pointed at the sand around him, when he began to feel a little silly. He turned to tell Dean that they should head to meet the others now when he stopped in his tracks, only just realizing the vast difference in the scene around them. Dean turned, too, walking back towards Harry. Both of their faces were dripping with sweat. The beach was clear as far as their eyes could see. Dean must have known another spell for the water, because he had turned the water into a beautiful hue of blue.</p><p>   “Blimey, this is, it’s-” Harry couldn’t find the words to describe what he felt at the transformation that had happened—that they had <em> caused. </em>Dean beamed.</p><p>   “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” </p><p>   The two of them watched the waves come in for a second, and Dean spoke again, his eyes on the ocean. “What’s the point of magic?” </p><p>   Harry startled. “What do you mean?” </p><p>   “I mean, what’s the point of some of the population having such an immense amount of power and not doing anything to help? I know we can’t fix everything with magic, but we can fix a great deal.” Dean breathed in deeply. </p><p>   Harry hadn’t considered this line of thought much before. Magic had saved him from the Dursleys, given him his best friends, and been necessary to defeat forces of evil. But he saw Dean’s point—why hoard magic and allow so many to suffer?</p><p>   “It’s what I’m interested in, you know? Maybe. Advocating for the use of magic to solve problems on Earth. Especially with the environment. Sorry if I sound corny, Harry, but this isn’t a Muggle planet <em> or </em>a wizard planet. It’s just a dying one.” Dean’s voice was fierce. Harry nodded slowly, and then more confidently.</p><p>   “You’re right. That’s brilliant, Thomas.”</p><p>The lifeguard was approaching them, and Harry began to reach for his wand to murmur an <em> confundo. </em>Dean interrupted him. </p><p>   “And maybe we shouldn’t modify memories so much? I dunno, doesn’t seem fair to mess with people’s brains like that.”</p><p>Harry grinned and punched Dean’s shoulder as they walked up the beach towards the edge of the sand, where gravel began. </p><p>   “Dean Thomas, you gentleman and Muggle defender.” </p><p>Dean rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. Okay, the campsite should be this way.”</p><p>   A few seconds passed as they trudged along in silence. Harry’s limbs were aching and he saw the rest of their friends in the far distance, when he suddenly remembered something. </p><p>   “Dean, you know Sue Li? The Ravenclaw from our year who mostly hung with the year above? She loves things with the environment, too, I think. Or maybe it was just magical plants..anyway, there’s an overlap! Maybe we can set you up with her, huh?” Harry had in fact been privately worrying if Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Luna would feel stifled being surrounded by so many couples. He had no previously explored knack at matchmaking, but it was as good a time as any. </p><p>An expression of amusement played at Dean’s lips and he shook his head. </p><p>   “Harry, for the savior of our world, you are really thick, you know that? You and Weasley!” Dean looked at the group ahead of them and smiled. “I like Seamus. We’ve been on and off since fifth year. Not sure where we stand on the romance side presently, but...” </p><p>Harry gaped like a fish, looking from Dean to the pale smudge of Seamus among the rest of the group. </p><p>   “I didn’t notice! I never knew! We shared a room!” </p><p>Dean turned to Harry and smirked. Then he murmured <em> muffliato. </em>A cloud of silence wrapped around them, obscuring anything they said from anyone who could have been near them. </p><p>   Harry grinned. “Point taken.”</p><p>The silence fell away as Dean cast the counter incantation. </p><p>   “Fucking brilliant, Thomas.” Harry shook his head. </p><p>   They kept walking, and were getting close to the group, when Harry put out a hand to stop Dean. Dean turned, concerned. Harry scratched his neck, unsure about how to say this but certain that he needed to. He lowered his voice and looked at Dean gravely before he spoke.</p><p>   “Dean, I was surprised about it but really I’m thrilled, and I don’t see you as any different. If anybody gives you grief about it, though,” Harry took a breath, “about being gay, anybody at all, you can tell me. Anything, comments or whatever, it-it’s-” </p><p>   “Thanks, mate. Appreciate it.” Dean said, his lips twitching, and continued walking, gesturing Harry to follow. Dean burst into laughter a second later. “That classic Potter savior complex coming in!” he crowed. </p><p>   Harry made a snarky comment about how that complex had come in very handy during an unfortunate sixth-year incident involving Dean, a hand-rolled cigarette, and Severus Snape (the Marauder’s Map was a key player, too, but Dean didn’t know that). They continued on bickering playfully that way until Neville looked up and yelled.</p><p>   “Harry! Dean!” </p><p>   An explosion of noise, and then Harry was hugging his friends one by one. He hadn’t seen them in close to two months. Luna, Parvati, Neville, Dean, and Seamus all greeted him. Lavender hung back at first, looking shy, before Harry bounded up to her and excitedly said hello. Hermione had given them a stern talking-to on giving her a fair chance (“I saw the way she took down Augustus Rookwood at Hogwarts, Ron, she’s bloody brilliant!”). Lavender dimpled and said hello shyly. Harry saw that a new scar ran down the side of her face. It was strange the way that remnants of the war’s legacy were weaved into their new reality.</p><p>   “What took you two so long?” Ron demanded now, looking at Harry. He was a little further back on the grassy patch they all occupied, sitting on his knees with Hermione by him. Ron’s face was shining with sweat and his hands were full with the heap of nylon that was supposed to be a tent. A paper pamphlet—ostensibly an instruction manual—was on the ground next to him. </p><p>   “We were walking along the beach,” Dean explained. “And cleaning some of the trash laying about.” </p><p>   “Sound!” Seamus said, beaming at Dean, who winked. </p><p>   Hermione was interested in how they had cleaned up pollution, so she and Dean began an earnest discussion of the spell for cleaning seawater. Harry looked around at the rest of the group. Luna and Ginny were talking to each other by a fire pit. Luna had cut her hair very short in a pixie cut, and Ginny was exclaiming about how fantastic it looked (Harry had heard all about Ginny’s own plans to shave her head). Luna looked healthier, he noticed, and her eyes were bright as she described how, with this new look, she hoped to gain a deeper understanding of Cornish Pixies themselves now that they were in their hometown. Ginny was nodding slowly, clearly trying to be open-minded. Harry shot her a quick smile hello. </p><p>   Ron was still struggling to put the tent up. Ron had spent much of the past few days doing research on Muggle camping methods, furiously scribbling notes on pitching a tent, lighting fires, and finding food. Harry had even caught him staying up to watch an American film about camping on the telly. Ron’s hand had been over his mouth, horrified eyes watching an enormous bear approach a family in the woods. He had nevertheless insisted on taking charge on their trip (“You and Hermione did the tent at the World Cup, I’ve got it this time, Harry!”)  Hermione was leaned against a tree by him, watching and fighting a smile. </p><p>   “Ron, really, I can <em> help. </em>”</p><p>   “<em> No </em> ..Hermione..I studied this…” Ron was saying through gritted teeth as he exerted all his force into driving a stake into the ground. She looked amused and impressed by his determination. She gave Harry an exasperated <em> what-can-you-do </em>glance.</p><p>Parvati and Neville were crouched on the ground and Harry approached them, stooping to his knees, too. </p><p>   “What are we looking at?” he whispered, and Parvati jumped.</p><p>   “Oh! Harry, look. Look at this, it’s a moke. I’ve never seen one live before. Why isn’t it shrinking?” she turned her attention back to the ground, where a pale green lizard was peering up at them. Harry faintly recalled mokes from his Care of Magical Creatures O.W.L. Their skin was used in coin-purses because the purse would shrink to an imperceptibly small size in front of a stranger. They were very rarely visible in nature because of this very quality.</p><p>   “Parvati, I think that’s just an ordinary lizard. They don’t shrink.” </p><p>   “No, no, I’m pretty sure it’s a moke, Harry. See the ridges in its tail?” Neville gestured. Harry was unconvinced but watched the small creature wriggle along the ground for a few seconds with them. The lizard/moke burrowed a small hole into the ground and disappeared into it. Parvati looked up at him, pushing her hair off her face. </p><p>   “So how’ve you been, Harry?” </p><p>They got to their feet, dusting their jeans off. </p><p>   “I’ve been alright. What about you, Parvati? How’s Padma? And living with Lavender?” </p><p>   “Oh I’ve been good..better than good,” Parvati said happily, “Padma is really enjoying her summer in New York, she says the Ministry there is just as corrupt but she’s really hoping to make some change if she gets hired after this internship.”</p><p>   “I’m still in awe of how she managed to apply to this in the middle of everything else.” Neville shook his head.</p><p>   Parvati laughed at that. “That’s Padma for you, she knows what she wants and she goes after it! And Lavender—it’s <em> so </em>good, Harry. I’m so glad we moved in together, our flat is lovely and I can’t wait to have you all over. Honestly…” She looked over at Lavender, who was by Luna and Ginny now, passionately explaining something. “I’ve never been happier. Is that wrong to say? When so many people got their chance at happiness taken away?”</p><p>   She seemed to genuinely want an answer from Harry. Harry scrambled to find something comforting to say, but it all felt false in his head. Harry was asking himself the same question, after all. Thankfully, Neville jumped in. </p><p>   “Of course it’s not wrong, Parvs. I know it’s easy to feel that way, and I felt like it for a long time after what happened with my parents..but we owe it to everyone who didn’t make it to be as happy as we can be. They would want that, but it’s also what we deserve. There’s no way out but forward, you know? Mum told me that once, when she was a little lucid.” Neville looked at Harry as he spoke, too, and Harry had a feeling that Neville knew that Harry had been plagued by the same concern. Neville was earnest and genuine as always, and his words had the added conviction that the past year had instilled in him. Harry was surprised how relieving it felt to hear someone explicitly and assuredly tell him he was allowed to be happy, even though the sentiment seemed like it should be obvious. </p><p>   “Okay, everybody gather ‘round, please!” Hermione’s voice echoed through the site, and the group huddled together, facing Hermione. Ginny came to stand by Harry, jostling his shoulder lightly. Hermione had stood up on a rock around the fire pit, precariously balanced. Ron was eyeing the rock with suspicion when she cleared her throat pointedly. He hurriedly began passing out the schedules to each person in the group, quite messily. Harry got three of them, but decided not to say anything. As everyone scanned the papers in front of them, soft conversation bubbled. </p><p>   “Oi! Listen to Hermione!” Ron bellowed.</p><p>   “Yes sir, Professor sir.” Neville shouted, earning a round of laughs. Ron scrunched his nose and flipped his middle finger up.</p><p>   “You all have schedules for each day in front of you. Today’s the 27th, it’s”—she checked her chunky black watch—”11:30 AM. We’re supposed to Apparate back the night of the 30th, so we’ve got four days, three nights. Now, I have attractions and activities for us to do each day, but as <em> Ronald </em>has reminded me, we must remain somewhat..flexible.” The word flexible seemed to cause her much pain to say. </p><p>   “That’s all good and well, Hermione, but there’s an error on here!” Seamus called out. </p><p>   “What?” Ron asked, grinning already. </p><p>   “You haven’t penciled in any time for us to have a wee.” </p><p> </p><p>   Hours later, the tents were up and the air was unexpectedly chilly. Ron had fallen asleep, exhausted, inside one of them, after making Hermione promise to wake him up before they got the fire going. The rest of them were sitting on foldable chairs that Lavender cheekily insisted had fit in her bags without an Extension Charm on them. Parvati was on the ground, her back against Lavender’s legs. The conversation was smooth, although everybody carefully steered their topics away from before the end of the war. Instead, they caught up with each other on how they had spent the past two months. Padma was, of course, getting work experience at the Magical Congress, the government in America. She had always dreamed of going there. </p><p>   “I can really see Padma in New York, all fancily dressed up, can’t you? Maybe she can take up a second job as a sex columnist. It would be very glamorous.” Luna gushed. They all gawked at her. She paused and then elaborated: “What, have none of you seen Sex and the City? It’s a new Muggle show, although I think Sarah Jessica Parker may have some magic in her. You can sometimes tell from the pupil distance, you know.” </p><p>   On further questioning, they learned that Xenophilius had purchased a telly, too—apparently they were becoming popular in magical households, leisure a luxury afforded once more—and that Luna was currently very enamored with two things: Sex and the City and fashion design. The fashion interest wasn’t so surprising. Luna had always had a unique sense of style. </p><p>   “It’s not just fashion,” she clarified. “It’s <em> practical </em>fashion. Items that benefit the wearer. You know my Dirigible Plum earrings? They helped me pass my OWLs, you know, because of their wisdom-enhancing properties. More pieces like that!” </p><p>   Harry didn’t quite know if the scientific method had been used to evaluate the “wisdom-enhancing properties” of Dirigible Plums, but anything was possible. </p><p>   “I like dresses with roomy pockets,” Ginny offered. Luna’s eyes lit up.</p><p>   “Ooh, yes! That’s a great one, too.”</p><p>   Lavender and Parvati filled them in on life in their flat. Ron needn’t have worried about things being awkward with Lavender. Although Ron and Harry had heard that her and Parvati had become an item during seventh year, and seen them together at memorial services over the past few months, Ron’s last memories about her had been the very unpleasant ending to their fling in sixth year. Lavender, however, was clearly not similarly plagued by those memories. Her round face shone down at Parvati as they spoke over each other. </p><p>   “And we’ve got a <em> green </em>kitchen, it’s lovely, really. Magical plants everywhere, Neville. Anyway, you’ll all be coming later in the summer, once we’ve got the place fully set up,” Lavender finished. They all eagerly agreed to this plan.</p><p>   “We can have a proper party, with more people from our year and people from the team and everything! A place of our own to trash!” Neville said excitedly, before catching Parvati’s eye and guiltily adding, ‘If that’s okay with the two of you, that is.” </p><p>Parvati’s faux-grave face dissolved as she giggled and said, “It was already on our list.”</p><p>   “And Neville, what have you been up to?” Hermione asked.</p><p>   “Oh, just laying about. I’ve got Dittany, Moly, and Wiggentree growing in the grounds behind our house, so I check up on them often. Honestly, I have barely any time to myself. Gran has been so proud of me for everything over seventh year and the battle that she has relatives from all over the world coming to <em> meet </em> me,” Neville said, pinking so deeply that Harry saw a hint of young, flustered Neville in him. “I’ve been pretending I have spattergoit, Ron, so I don’t have to come out of my room.”</p><p>   “The life of a celebrity, I see. Any of these fans <em> secret admirers?” </em>Seamus dropped his voice dramatically. </p><p>   “Yes, the seventy year old cousins of Gran <em> secretly admire </em>me.” Neville said, snorting and throwing Luna a quick smile. Harry knew they were quite close. Neville had fancied Luna for a while and figured himself in love with her, but she had gently and firmly turned him down after the end of the war (despite living with Neville for six years, he had heard all this from Ginny, who corresponded with Luna frequently). Luna and Neville apparently remained best friends, and Luna giggled back at him now. “Okay, Thomas, you go now.”</p><p>    As Dean began his explanation of pollution, the purpose of magic, and “the false dichotomy of Muggle versus wizard problems”, Harry looked around at the circle around him and stretched his legs out in front of him. There was a sudden <em>zip </em>behind them and the sound of movement as a bleary-eyed Ron clambered out of the red tent, approaching the fire pit with a tenacious look in his eyes and a page full of scrawled notes.</p><p>    "Let's get this fire started, yeah?" He rubbed his hands in excitement. As they all crowded around Ron, eager to see the pureblood start a fire the Muggle way, Harry found himself watching his friends for what felt like the tenth time that day. The joy was infectious. <em>This feels nothing like those months on the run,</em> he thought happily.     </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you to everyone who has read this and left Kudos. Special shout out to anybody who commented, it's honestly made my whole week to see even one person enjoy this. </p><p>Two confessions: I've never been tent camping and I don't read a lot of HP fanfiction. Because of the former, please let me know if I mess any camping details up. Because of the latter, I've pretty much built some of the characters with little-no personality in the HP series (Parvati, Padma, Lavender, Dean, Seamus) from scratch. I hope you like them :) </p><p>This is also a Harry-focused fic, which is why other people—like Lavender and Parvati, who are an established couple here—are only observed through his eyes. Other characters have full and dynamic relationships and identities, and we are seeing things mostly from oblivious, naive and wonderful Harry Potter's eyes, although sometimes I do veer into a stronger narrator voice by explaining other characters' feelings (oops).</p><p>General References<br/>- I have no idea if Scourgify would work to clean litter up, but it's all I could find so let's assume so with the right amount of inherent magical power in the wizard and concentration. Just made up the fact that there's another one for cleaning water.<br/>- Sue Li was in Dumbledore’s Army and Ravenclaw in their year (according to HP Wiki)<br/>- The camping movie Ron was watching is The Great Outdoors (1988).<br/>- The information about mokes is from the HP Wiki.<br/>- Sex and the City premiered in early June of 1998, so what Luna says is accurate.<br/>- Luna wears Dirigible Plum earrings in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.<br/>- Dittany, Moly, and Wiggentree are all real magical plants, from the book One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.<br/>- Cornish Pixies are named so because they are from Cornwall. This is probably obvious to British readers of Harry Potter!</p><p>All The Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 References:<br/>- Harry apparates to the beach by accident, as Remus did. He enjoys the solitude for a while, as Remus did (although he is interrupted by his darker thoughts).<br/>- Harry is protective over Dean after finding out about him and Seamus, and the "Potter savior complex" is a nod to James's similar behavior in All the Young Dudes after finding out about Remus being gay. I just love the idea that Harry would jump to earnestly offer support for Dean, just like James.</p><p>That's all, I think. Things to look forward to: swimming, carnival, ghost stories, getting drunk, dancing, and a surprise.</p><p>Thank you!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Fire-Making, Floaties, and Stubby Boardman</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry, Ron, and Hermione talk about doing things right and the future. The group goes swimming and eats snacks by the fire. They listen to music, get drunk, and play truth or dare. Harry thinks about grief.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No content warnings! Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    The fire was blazing and Ron Weasley was grinning. Harry grinned back at him, pretending he hadn’t seen Hermione murmur an <em> incendio </em>after fifty minutes of the kindling failing to catch fire. Ron whooped. </p><p>    “Dad’s gonna be <em> buzzing </em>when I get home and tell him about this!” </p><p>    The three of them stepped back and admired Ron’s (Hermione’s) work. A neat structure of tawny bricks surrounded the kindling. Neville had left his goggles on one of these bricks, and Harry was sure that he’d forgotten them. After they had all spent thirty minutes sitting around watching Ron carry more and more tinder to the pit, refusing any help, Neville and the rest of the group had gone down to the beach for a swim, some of them feigning a genuine urgent passion for the water and others telling Ron to his face that the fire was taking too bloody long. </p><p>    “You know, I tried to make a fire once, the Muggle way, years ago.” Ron’s eyes glowed amber, and then he turned to Harry and Hermione and they were brown again. “I was 13, probably. Fred and George bet me I couldn’t.” </p><p>    “And?” Harry asked. </p><p>    “I couldn’t,” Ron smiled softly. “I had no money, but I was cleaning up after them for a week. Wish they could see this now.” <em> Wish Fred could see this now.  </em></p><p>    They all watched the flames stretch up and then cower again, orange and red dancing across their faces.</p><p>    “We’ll set a fire in the yard outside every day after we get back. It’ll prove your manhood.” Harry said dryly.</p><p>     “Good thing the Burrow was built with fireproofing charms.” Hermione added. </p><p>    Ron chuckled and rolled his eyes, striding over to the circle of lawn chairs. He stared at the fire for a second, his lips moving soundlessly to murmur a spell, and then the fire went out. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a towel out of the duffle bag on his chair and began pulling his shirt off. </p><p>    “Well? Are we going swimming or not?” he asked Harry and Hermione, who were frozen to their spots and gawking at him. He looked bewildered at their expressions.</p><p>    “Ron, we <em> just set the fire. </em>” Hermione cried. “All that hard work!”</p><p>    “Oh, that was a test round anyway. I’ll do it all again when we get back. It’ll be dark by then. I think I’ve really gotten the hang of it.” Ron waved his hand dismissively, focused on rummaging around in the bag. Hermione pressed her lips together, shaking her head, and then set her jaw. </p><p>    “Ron.” she said. He looked up. </p><p>    “What? What’s wrong?”</p><p>    She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Harry rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit awkward. </p><p>    “You know...you don’t need to prove anything to us, right?” Hermione said gently. </p><p>    “How do you figure?” Ron said, avoiding her gaze and turning to the bag again. He pulled out a pair of swim trunks. </p><p>    “The tent..this...and then you want to do it again...you get to have <em> fun </em> on this trip, too. I know you’ve been practicing all the tent and fire mechanisms and whatnot but you don’t need to do it all <em> yourself. </em>” She looked pointedly at Harry, a sign to contribute to this intervention. </p><p>    “Er..yeah. Let us help you, mate.” Harry added. </p><p>    Ron looked up at them steadily and then let out a soft exhale, taking hold of Hermione’s hand lightly. </p><p>    “Alright.” he said, sounding a little relieved. “I guess I’ve gotten used to trying to make things….go exactly right, you know. These past few months. At home, and now here...I just wanted to make sure this trip was perfect, you know. I want to do it <em> right. </em>” </p><p>    Hermione made a small murmuring sound with her mouth. “Ronald Weasley, being an uptight perfectionist. I could kiss you right now.” </p><p>    Harry groaned. “Please don’t. And Hermione, <em> stop </em> rubbing off on him. Now hurry up and get into your swim clothes, you dummies.” </p><p> </p><p>    Moments later, the three of them were walking down from the campsite to the beach. The sun was steadily descending, but it was still quite bright outside. Hermione shivered a little, her pale coverup dress no match for the chill in the air. Harry and Ron were faring no better. They huddled together as they walked, their shoes crunching into the leaves on the ground. The campsite was in a clearing in the middle of a small patch of woods. Besides themselves, there was only one family camping, and they were quite far away from them. Seamus had spotted them first when he made the trek down to the communal bathrooms that the campsite provided. Other than that, they really felt like they were in the middle of nowhere. It was less lonely than Harry had expected.</p><p>    “Oh! Mrs. Tonks sent me an owl yesterday, I forgot to say!” Harry blurted. “Apparently Teddy opened and shut his hands! Isn’t that amazing?”</p><p>    “Er..Harry, didn’t he do that last week?” Hermione asked slowly. </p><p>    “Yes, but now it’s the second time! And apparently that’s a <em> four </em> -month milestone, so he’s a whole month ahead. He’s just <em> brilliant.” </em>Harry shook his head. Ron and Hermione exchanged an amused glance. </p><p>    “You’re going to be wonderful as a father, Harry,” Hermione giggled. “But I expect we’ll all be getting owls forty times a day.” </p><p>    “Every time the little tyke eats, poops, blinks…” Ron ticked the actions off on his fingers.</p><p>    Harry shoved Ron’s shoulder, which had the intended effect of shoving Hermione too. </p><p>    “As if you’ll be any better, you tosser. Your son will be crying for milk and you’ll be too busy playing Wizard’s Chess to notice.” Harry said. It was a lame comeback, but Ron went very quiet and still. Harry peered at him cautiously. Hermione rolled her eyes. </p><p>    “Oh, Ron, calm down, you don’t need to think about fatherhood right this second. Don’t tell me you’re one of those boys who can’t think of their futures without breaking into a sweat.” </p><p>    Ron seemed startled. “What? No! Blimey, Hermione! I’m not scared to think about the future! I’ve thought about it a ton!” </p><p>    Hermione stared. “You have?” </p><p>    “Breakfast tomorrow doesn’t count.” Harry sniggered. </p><p>    “Shut it, Potter. I just thought we’d..I’d like a daughter. And I’d name her after a flower, maybe.” Ron had gone very pink. </p><p>    Harry resisted the urge to make fun of him.</p><p>    “Wow,” Hermione said, and Harry could tell she was smiling without looking at her. </p><p>    “Always the tone of surprise,” Ron said, still flushed. Then he turned to Harry. “What about you, Harry? What are your plaaaaans?” </p><p>    Harry stretched his back as they walked. The beach was in sight now, and his friends peppered the surface of the water. </p><p>    “No plans. Day by day, you know. I feel like, career-wise...I have to figure out what I <em> like </em>you know? We haven’t gotten much time yet to do that. The only thing I really remember enjoying a lot in school was leading DA, to be honest. But, I don’t know, what’s the rush?” Harry trailed off. They had stopped where the sand started to take their shoes off. </p><p>    “Honestly, the whole world seems open to us now, doesn’t it?” Ron interrupted. It had been exactly what Harry was thinking. “There’s no—deadline, no pressure.” </p><p>    Hermione’s eyes were bright as they all looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. Then Hermione threw her head back and stretched out her arms. </p><p>    “AHHHHHHH” she yelled to the sky, the evening wind catching in her hair, and then turned to them and beamed. Harry and Ron started laughing almost giddily. In the distance, someone—either Luna or Lavender, Harry couldn’t tell, was gesturing to them to hurry up and join them. Harry’s heart felt close to bursting.</p><p>    “We really can do anything, can’t we?” Hermione said softly, a smile playing at her lips. Then she stepped away from them, looking sly. “And right now...I can race you to the water! Last one in is a rotten egg!” </p><p>    She bounded off, her flip-flops in her hand and a towel over her shoulder. She was laughing maniacally, turning her head back at them. Harry and Ron bellowed their protests at her early start and followed after her, thoughts of the future folded away to make space for the now.</p>
<hr/><p>    The fire was up and roaring again, this time due to the combined manual labor of Ron, Hermione, Parvati, and Seamus (Harry, when called to help, had chewed his crisps extra loudly and pretended not to be able to hear them through the noise.) The whole group cheered when the fire was up, and Ron seemed satisfied as he sat down in the chair next to Harry. There was a giant basket by the fire packed to the brim with snacks: crisps, chocolates, wafers, biscuits, pork rinds, and individually wrapped cakes made by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione had brought marshmallows, digestive biscuits, and chocolate bars and was passing skewers out now. Harry felt stuffed, the result of the four bags of crisps he’d inhaled after they got back from swimming, but reached for a skewer anyway. Everyone was settling into their seats or grabbing food, their heads dripping with water and bodies wrapped in fluffy towels. Luna had twisted her hair with a t-shirt, so that it looked a bit like a pineapple. Neville didn’t seem to be able to tear his eyes away. </p><p>    The water had been marvelous, crystal clear and gentle enough that they had paddled around, splashing each other. Harry had laid on his back for a while on the water, looking up at the peaceful smile and feeling very happy. Luna had joined him, giant red floater sleeves on her arms. </p><p>    “Lots of wizards can’t swim, huh?” Harry had murmured. Lavender, Parvati, and Neville all had floater sleeves on too.</p><p>    “Oh, no, I can swim. These are to warn any sea nymphs that I’m in their territory.” Luna had informed him, kicking lightly. Harry had hummed in understanding.</p><p>    “It feels nice, doesn’t it?” Harry had said after a few moments of floating, shutting his eyes lightly.</p><p>    “It’s lovely.” Luna had said softly. “My mother loved to swim, she taught me when I was a baby. All my memories of water are with her.” </p><p>    “I’m sorry. That must be painful.” Harry had said, almost automatically. </p><p>    “No, actually, it’s the most wonderful thing in the world.” </p><p>    Harry had opened his eyes then, startled, to see Luna smiling warmly at him. Then she had flipped around and dove into the water, swimming away. He shot Luna a quick smile across the fire now, still thinking about what she had said. She dimpled back and then turned her attention back to the pack of wafers she was trying to open.</p><p>    Hermione passed by behind them and draped an extra bright orange towel emblazoned with “GO CANNONS GO” across Ron’s shivering frame. Across the fire, Ginny lifted up a very charred marshmallow, looking delightedly at it and then at Harry. Harry grinned, his teeth chattering. “<em> Hot Air Charm?” </em> Ginny mouthed to him. Harry considered. Perhaps it was worth breaking the rules. He nodded, eyes wide <em> . </em>She shook her head disapprovingly at him. </p><p>   “Harry Potter the cheat!” she tutted, out loud. “Trying to use a <em> spell </em>on our Muggle camping trip!” Dean and Seamus booed loudly. Ginny scrunched her nose at him.</p><p>    He stuck his tongue out at Ginny and leaned towards the fire to roast his marshmallow.</p><p>    To his left, Lavender and Parvati were listening to a Walkman, passing the headphones back and forth. </p><p>    “What are you listening to?” he whispered to them. </p><p>    “Spice Girls. Their newest record, ‘Spiceworld.’” Parvati whispered back, as Lavender rolled her shoulders rhythmically, her eyes shut in concentration and lips murmuring the lyrics. Harry grabbed two digestive biscuits and stuck his marshmallow between them, reaching for a square of chocolate.</p><p>    “Ick. Sounds horrid.” Ron yawned. Parvati rolled her eyes. </p><p>    “And what do you listen to, Ron? What <em> Muggle </em>music?” she asked dryly.</p><p>    “Oh, you know,” Ron said, a hint of panic in his tone. He had only listened to Muggle music sparingly on MTV, and that channel was saturated with teen pop. Harry was pretty sure he had seen Ron and Charlie bopping their heads along to a Spice Girls song once, actually. “Hip-hop and stuff.” Ron finished lamely. Harry sucked some melted chocolate off his thumb. </p><p>    Lavender and Parvati giggled. </p><p>    “Oh, alright, then let me have a listen!” Ron said crossly, going to sit by them. They passed the Walkman over, and Harry watched as Ron’s expressions smoothened as he listened. After a few seconds during which Harry could have sworn that Ron had been thrusting his shoulder a little, Ron pulled the headphones down around his neck. </p><p>    “Harry!” he said dreamily, in the same tone he had once said <em> Romilda Vane! </em> “This is..incredible!” </p><p>    Harry laughed. </p><p>    “Oh, are we listening to music?” Seamus perked up. “That reminds me!” He jogged off to the navy blue tent that he and Dean were sharing. He came out a moment later, lugging a large silver contraption with him. </p><p>    “You brought a boombox!” Hermione clapped her hands. Seamus held a book of discs out and waved it a little. Neville clambered up from his seat quickly to grab it, flipping through it. </p><p>    “Wicked, there’s Muggle and magical artists on here!” Neville beamed. Harry, Lavender, and Ron crowded around him as Seamus set the boombox down by them. Neville read aloud the artists as they looked at different albums. Oasis, The Hobgoblins, The Verve, Blodwyn Bludd, Spice Girls, Radiohead, The Bent-Winged Snitches, Wham!, Celestina Warbeck, Celine Dion.. Harry caught Ron’s eye and, realizing they were clearly out of their area of expertise here, the pair stepped away to make more s’mores. Harry burnt his marshmallow on purpose, which Ron looked personally offended by. </p><p>    “Why don’t you just toss it directly in there for a bit, then?” Ron demanded as he placed his own barely browned marshmallow on his digestive. Harry gave him a gooey smile, to which Ron shook his head in disgust. Ginny had laid out a blanket in the space between the circle of chairs, and her and Hermione were looking interestedly at something that Parvati was showing them. Harry and Ron hovered at the edge of their huddle, looking awkwardly at each other, before Ginny looked up and beckoned for them to sit. </p><p>    “Wazgoinon?” Ron said through his mouth full of marshmallow. Ginny grimaced. </p><p>    “Parvati brought truth or dare cards. They look really fun, should we play?” Hermione asked. She was biting her lip a little nervously and looking at Ron a little pleadingly, as if hoping he’d say no. Hermione Granger may not have been afraid of a pack of Death Eaters, but apparently a good dare could get her. </p><p>    “Let’s do it!” Ron said, swallowing and smiling wickedly at Hermione. She glared at him, and he put his arm around her. “Come on, Hermione, if you get anything really mortifying, I’ll do it. It’s not like I have much dignity left with this group anyway.” Hermione softened.</p><p>    “You have <em> none </em>, not after The Great Blackout at Dean’s 16th.” Parvati reminded him. Harry and Ron winced, remembering a warbled rendition of Celestina Warbeck’s greatest hits that they had performed from atop the pool table that Hermione had summoned into the Gryffindor common room. Ginny perked up, smirking at Ron. </p><p>    “Ooh, is that the one where he knocked an entire vat of pumpkin juice down his front? And he was sixteen, wasn’t he?” she chirped brightly. </p><p>    “Yes and yes!” Parvati chirped back, clearly aware of where this was going. </p><p>    “So Ron was blackout drunk, and he was sixteen, as I am now, but only much less closer to seventeen?” Ginny added innocently. </p><p>    Ron groaned. “I need a drink!” </p><p>    “Okay, let’s add some spice to Truth or Dare, then!” Parvati announced, getting up to grab the drinks, which were stacked by a tree. </p><p>    Within ten minutes, everybody had agreed to play. Bottles of firewhiskey were passed around and a pale Hermione had already started sipping from it, her eyes slowly getting brighter and her expression loosening. The sky was dark now and filled with the sound of pop rock music playing from the boombox. Lavender informed them that it was The Hobgoblins. </p><p>    “Ooh, remember when I thought their frontman, Stubby Boardman, was actually Sirius in disguise? Can you imagine?” Luna giggled. There was a short silence while everyone looked nervously at the ground or at Harry, unsure how to respond. Luna tilted her head at him slightly. Harry was a little surprised to find, however, that he didn’t feel bad at hearing about his godfather at all (although he wished everybody would stop staring at him). Instead, it actually felt good to talk about Sirius and <em> laugh. </em>Harry grinned. </p><p>    “Yeah, I do!” Harry said, thinking back. “I told Sirius about it too, actually. He thought it was hilarious, but said that if he were to disguise himself as a musician, it would be someone ‘devilishly handsome’ like David Bowie. Would be more fitting for his looks, apparently.”</p><p>    The mood lightened and everybody laughed. Harry felt the familiar pang that accompanied his memories of Sirius or Remus, but it felt softer, warmer, less threatening, with the light of the fire on his friends’ faces and the sweet aftertaste of chocolate in his mouth. As Neville pulled the first “Dare” card from the deck and began to attempt a choppy American accent, Harry smiled gratefully at Luna. </p><p>    “3/10 accent,” Seamus put a thumbs-down up at Neville. </p><p>    “You try, then!” Neville said defensively.</p><p>    “Hey dude, can I get a cheeseburger?” Seamus said, his words stretched lazily. It was quite good, Harry had to admit. Neville nodded his defeat and swigged from his bottle.</p><p>    “Who next?” Neville asked, holding the deck out. </p><p>    “Me!” Ron said, grabbing the deck and pulling out the first “Dare” card. His face went scarlet, but he widened his eyes meaningfully at Hermione before reading aloud, “Kiss the most attractive person in the group”. Hermione went pink, too, but shrugged concedingly before reaching across and kissing Ron square on the mouth. It went for far too long for Harry or Ginny’s liking, and only their loud fake-retches got the couple to pull apart, loping grins on their faces. </p><p>    “Too many happy couples, not enough scandal!” Neville shook his head in mock resignation. Harry saw Dean and Seamus look quickly at each other and then away, flushing. </p><p>    Lavender answered Truth next, admitting that she had in fact made up prophecies for her Divination homework before (“just once, when I didn’t have time to properly do it!” she shrieked). Harry and Ron high-fived smugly. Parvati was dared to down her bottle of firewhiskey, which she did with bravado. Before long, the cards were set aside and they were just making up truths and dares for each other, each one more ridiculous than the one before. Ron had to swear up and down that he had never had a crush on Victor Krum, his cheeks blotchy, Harry choked on his drink when Seamus drunkenly asked him about a ridiculous rumor that he had vowed to name his future child after Snape, and Seamus himself was dared to do impressions of different professors, which he was actually quite excellent at, before Luna suggested a twist: that he do impressions of how they would be drunk. Harry wasn’t sure if Seamus’s rendition of a cocky, pissed Professor Lockhart was meant to be so wobbly on its feet or if that was just Seamus, but he didn’t quite care. Everyone was in stitches, Dean on his knees in hysterics, banging his fist on the ground. The night went on like that.</p><p>    When Parvati started snoring, they all agreed to pack things up and head into their tents. He and Ginny held hands, walking tipsily towards their tent. They clumsily changed, giggling and shushing each other throughout, and then got into bed. Everything felt fuzzy and bright, and Harry was certain that it wasn’t just the alcohol. His last thought before falling asleep was that he didn’t think he had ever laughed so hard in his life.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is so fun to write and the comments I've gotten have been so great, I'm so happy! Probably three-four more chapters maximum, not sure yet though. And the next few chapters may be shorter, because I’m really neglecting schoolwork for this..</p><p> Thank you for reading, sharing, commenting, offering ideas, anything! One thing I’d love to hear is if you think any particular character would like a certain musician/type of music! I don’t really know any of these 90s artists.</p><p>References/Research:<br/>- I put in a few little snarky things in this chapter, hehe. Firstly, the comment about the Burrow being fireproof is just because I hate how they burned it down in the sixth film and don't accept that hahaha. Secondly, the comment about the ridiculousness of Harry naming his kid after Snape..speaks for itself. Also, Harry noting that the only thing he really enjoyed in school was teaching the DA was a little nod to the common headcanon that he becomes DADA Professor rather than an Auror!<br/>- Digestive biscuits are what graham crackers are called in England.<br/>- The Hot Air Charm is real and dries you off!<br/>- The album "Spiceworld" by Spice Girls was big in 1998! It was apparently around when they started declining in fame, but I'd imagine that the magical world is a bit behind. I imagined them listening to "Spice Up Your Life" in this scene.<br/>- All the musical acts mentioned are wizarding musicians or the real top artists of 1997.<br/>- The Quibbler did publish that Stubby Boardman, the front man of The HobGoblins, was Sirius Black in disguise in 1995.<br/>- David Bowie reference is a nod to ATYD, where Sirius adores him.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Looe, Love, and Forehead Graffiti</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The group goes to Looe, a coastal town. They behave as teenagers behave. They talk about love and revelations are had.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A conversation-heavy and character/relationship-development chapter. More info at the end of the chapter.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “I don’t think I’ve ever missed magic as much as I do at this very moment,” Neville groaned. “How do Muggles manage these without <em> soberium incantatem </em> to soften the blow just a bit <em> ?”  </em></p><p>     “Lots of painkillers and water,” Seamus advised. Hermione’s head emerged from her giant knapsack at that moment, her arm triumphantly holding out a bottle of medicine. Nobody reacted. She made her way across the campsite to distribute the Advil. Harry yawned and headed back into his tent, drying off the washroom sink water on his hands on his jeans. Ginny was, for all intents and purposes, dead to the world, laying on her stomach completely still. He grabbed his water bottle and stepped back outside. </p><p>     “Anyway, that’s a pretty new spell, within our lifetimes,” Hermione said knowingly. She was tapping the fabric of Dean and Seamus’s tent with a fist. There was a muffled shout of <em> leave me alone </em>but she persisted until finally Dean came out, bleary-eyed, to accept the painkillers. </p><p>     “Two for you and two for Seamus! Put them in your mouth and then gulp it down with water!” Hermione called behind his retreating back. She yawned widely and then promptly looked sick. Harry hurried over and grabbed the bottle from her. She looked grateful, and then furious. </p><p>     “Harry! You—you—” </p><p>     “You’re completely fine the next morning again, as usual! I don’t know how you bloody do it.” Parvati huffed, scowling from her seat atop the edge of the fire pit.</p><p>     “Genetics, maybe?” Harry quipped, grinning widely. It was true—he had never had a hangover before. The worst he had ever experienced was a spot of dizziness at Quidditch practice the next morning. </p><p>     “God, remember when we were in Flitwick’s that one morning, at the end of sixth year? We were all completely out of it, I was trying not to vomit all over my desk, and Harry had the gall to <em> raise his hand and ask a question. </em>” Ron looked witheringly at Harry as he spoke. He was slumped on one of the foldable chairs, nursing a steaming mug. Harry gave the drink a questioning look, in response to which Ron pointed towards a kettle sitting on a lightweight portable stove. Next to it was a colorful collection of mugs.</p><p>     Harry chose a crimson and gold Gryffindor one and poured tea for himself. </p><p>     “Hey, there’s no point in hating me. I’m your parent and guardian until you all feel a bit better. Which,” he checked his wristwatch, “needs to be sooner rather than later. Hermione’s got us scheduled to go down to the small town nearby and visit a farmer’s market to get stuff for lunch. And dinner.” </p><p>     “We could just have the remaining crisps and snack cakes,” Ron suggested hopefully, looking very much like he could stay in that chair for the rest of the day. </p><p>     “We will not,” Hermione said sternly, still a little green in the face. “We got by on the food Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Thomas got us for lunch and dinner yesterday, but there’s only about two wrapped sandwiches left and we need proper nutrition.” She finished her speech with a confident finger in the air, but her eyes suddenly widened. She clapped a hand over her mouth and dashed into the woods. Ron jumped up and followed her, grabbing a spare plastic bag as he went.</p><p>     Parvati accepted some painkillers and went into her and Lavender’s tent. Harry skipped Luna’s tent—she didn’t drink, preferring other modes of inebriation— and went to Neville’s next, where the other boy gratefully accepted the pills and Harry’s instructions on how to swallow them.</p><p>     Harry looked into his own tent once again and cleared his throat loudly at his girlfriend.</p><p>     “Ginny? Ginny, come on, you’ve got to get up.”</p><p>Ginny stirred and mumbled something indecipherable. </p><p>      “Ginny, they’ve got the Quaffle.”</p><p>She shot up out of bed, her hair sticking up all over her head. </p><p>     “Who? Where?” she exclaimed. </p><p>Harry shook his head in mock-disbelief and crossed his arms. </p><p>     “You’ll get up for the chance at winning a Quidditch match but not for a day in Cornwall, full of fun, with the most good-looking and talented person you know.” </p><p>Ginny stretched her arms above her head, frowning sleepily. “I didn’t know Gwenog Jones was here!” </p><p>Harry made a rude face at her before handing her the pills and his water bottle.</p><p>     Thirty minutes later, the Advil had done its job and everybody was looking much more alive. They had all gone down to the bathrooms to shower and change. Harry couldn’t stop staring at Ginny, who was in baggy cargo pants and a crop top and looked very beautiful. She caught his eye stretched out her arms and posed dramatically until he looked away, reddening. </p><p>     “Okay, Hermione, you’re bringing your knapsack, and we should all be good to leave everything else here, right?” Lavender asked. It went unsaid that everybody would bring their wands. Harry supposed that it would be a long time before they felt safe enough to walk around without them. </p><p>     “Yes, we’ll be breaking our no-magic rule for the concealment spell so our bags can stay.” Ron confirmed. </p><p>     “Alright, lads and ladies and everything in between!” Neville called, clapping his hands. “Let’s go to town!” </p><p>     They set off, Ron and Neville both carrying maps of the area that Hermione had procured. It was about an hour walk, and they munched on energy bars for breakfast. Harry fell in line with Ron, Ginny, and Dean, who were in the midst of a heated debate about whether the Chudley Cannons could make a comeback his year. </p><p>     “The Cannons are <em> underdogs </em>! They’ve been overlooked, but this is their year, I can just feel it. I just know it’s going to turn around.” Ron punched his fist into an open hand for emphasis.</p><p>     “Ron, they were rubbish to start out with. And then this past year of no practices? Are you mad? They’ve probably forgotten how to get on their brooms,” Dean said dismissively, ignoring the furious scowl on Ron’s face. Dean turned to Harry. “What’s your take, Potter?”</p><p>     Ron looked at Harry too, threateningly. Harry pretended to think very deeply, scratching his chin. </p><p>     “Let me ponder this question and really consider it…” he stared at the sky for a second and then turned back to them, “..okay, I’ve thought it through. They haven’t got a fucking chance.” </p><p>     Dean and Ginny looked at Ron triumphantly. </p><p>     “None of you know the Cannons like I do. You’ll see.” Ron shook his head stubbornly, his jaw set. </p><p>     “Let’s bet on it, then,” Ginny declared, a glint in her eyes. Ron didn’t miss a beat (although Harry thought he probably should).</p><p>     “You’re on.” </p><hr/><p>     Harry, Ron, and Hermione found themselves walking in line at the back of the group at one point during the journey, and Ron had evidently been waiting for the chance to bring something up.</p><p>     “Hey, I need to tell you something!” Ron whispered urgently. “I know you always say I’m not observant, Hermione, but wait for this!”</p><p>     The three of them were used to having private conversations in groups, and leaned their heads in, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Ron continued to be a terrible whisperer despite all the practice.</p><p>     “I think there might be something ‘going on’ between Dean and Seamus,” Ron said, using air quotes. Hermione snorted and straightened up. Harry suppressed a smile.</p><p>     “Yeah, mate, I know.” </p><p>     “You <em> know? </em>Know what?” Ron looked bewildered. </p><p>     “They were on and off, casually, for a long time, Ron. I think the war put a stop to it, and now there’s clearly some unresolved tension.” Hermione answered matter-of-factly. </p><p>     “And how do you two know, then? And for how long?” Ron demanded.</p><p>     “I pried it out of Dean just yesterday,” Harry admitted.</p><p>     “I caught them together once, when I was patrolling the corridors as a prefect. They told me to keep it private. I probably covered for them a dozen times in all.” Hermione murmured out of the corner of her mouth. She grinned and rolled her eyes at them. “It was all pretty obvious, though. For anyone who wasn’t you two.” </p><p>     Ron’s jaw was open. </p><p>     “Really, Ron, is it that surprising?” Hermione asked.</p><p>     “No, I can’t believe you shirked your prefect duties like that. Real abuse of power. I’m going to have to report you to McGonagall.” </p><p>     Hermione thumped him upside the head.</p><hr/><p>     “Okay, this is where the town begins,” Neville called from the front “Looe, it’s called.”. Conversations hushed as everyone paid attention -to their surroundings. The area was stunning. Looe was a small coastal fishing town with two rivers running through the town and forming a small inlet between them. It had a weekly market that sold fresh fish, vegetables, and fruits. The sound of softly rushing water filled the air as they got closer. The land itself looked like the countryside, dotted with marine-themed restaurants and stores, naval museums, and fisheries from which rosy-cheeked people called out fishing terms that were foreign to the group. The thick trees that rose up around them were a deep, steady green that seemed like it would never fade, not even in the coldest of winters. Seagulls warbled to one another in high screeches, and some of them were strutting at their feet, pecking at the ground.</p><p>     “The South West Coast Path goes through here, right? The longest footpath in England?” Luna piped up. </p><p>     “Yeah, I feel like I could walk it right now, to be honest. I don’t think I could get enough of this view,” Seamus gazed at the rolling hills, upon which small, colorful houses were staggered. </p><p>     “It’s nice, but you go ahead and walk. I’ll stay here and sample the seafood for you.” Ron offered. Hermione pushed her hair away from her face and cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.</p><p>     “Okay, so the market’s over that way, past the oyster bar—Harry, <em> there, the blue sign, </em> somebody show him—so I’m going to head that way. Some of you come with me, please, but not everyone has to. I’ve got Muggle money in my bag, come get some if you want it.” Hermione announced. She turned slightly so Ginny could reach into the front zipper pocket. “Don’t be shy, Mum and Dad really want us to spend it all.”</p><p>     “And we’ll meet back here by 2:00, yeah?” Neville added. Hermione nodded. </p><p>     “Alright, see you all back here!” she called, heading off for the market. Ron, Lavender, Parvati, and Neville followed after her, chatting amongst themselves. </p><p>     Ginny hooked her arm in Luna’s, and spread her fingers out at the landscape, looking at Dean, Seamus, and Harry. </p><p>     “So, what should we do?” she asked brightly. </p><p>     “There’s a shop just there, we could look inside for souvenirs?” Harry offered. The rest of the group agreed and followed him. The shop was a small wooden construction painted in white. Through the glass window in the front, they could see a T-shirt proclaiming “I Love Looe.” Inside, they crammed into the tiny aisle. Snowglobes, hats, magnets, and keychains surrounded them, most of them involving seafood in some way. Nothing was laid out neatly. Harry was looking at a funny greeting card when Seamus whispered to him.</p><p>     “Oi, Harry!” </p><p>     Harry looked up to see Seamus and Dean wearing ridiculously large sunglasses and hats. Seamus’s hat was an elaborately pink affair covered in tiny drawings of shrimp. Dean’s was shaped like a bucket, at the top of which multiple polyester fish peeked out. </p><p>     “What do you think, Harry? We know you’re a fashion aficionado, with those same four tees you wear. And those dark wash jeans! Very daring,” Dean said dryly.</p><p>     Harry grinned and assured them of how dashing they looked.</p><p>     Dean and Seamus bowed dramatically and promised to find Harry equally dashing accessories. Luna giggled from nearby, lifting up a pair of lacy red novelty panties. She stretched them so they could read the clever and naughty quip printed across them, a suggestive joke involving (surprise!) fish. They all cracked up at that, Ginny snort-laughing endearingly. The shopkeeper shot them a furious glance, but now they couldn’t seem to stop. Every time Harry looked at one of the others directly, he felt his shoulders shake again. Nobody in this particular group was mature enough (or cared enough, for that matter) to get them all to shut up, so they hastily tried to turn away from each other and split up within the crowded store, lips pressed together tightly or fists against their mouths. Unfortunately, Luna and Seamus bumped into each other when they did this, sending them all into another round of giggles. </p><p>     The shopkeeper cleared his throat noisily.</p><p>     “We better leave,” Luna whispered loudly. They all jostled their way to the front of the store, where Ginny managed to be professional enough to purchase a disposable camera (“So the pictures really won’t move? Wicked!” she murmured) and Harry set down a soft, baby blue scarf that he thought was long enough for Hagrid. Dean and Seamus hadn’t managed to find anything at all, but Luna held out an assortment of items for the scowling owner to ring up. She had brought her own Muggle money. Harry spotted a set of a dozen earrings, all shaped like different fish—”for all the girls on the trip, and anyone else if they’d like to pierce their ears, too! I can do it, you know”—a coloring book of Looe’s geography—”for Dad, he finds it so stress-relieving”—and an intricately decorated poster of a map of the town. After all the purchases had been shoved into paper bags, they headed out to sit by the water. Harry saw Dean surreptitiously move his mouth, and the shoddy displays of the store straightened themselves. Harry just had the time to see the shopkeeper look up from his register absent-mindedly, sudden recognition, shock, and joy flitting across his face, before he, Seamus, and Dean had to jog to catch up with the rest of the group. Dean winked at them.</p><p>     “We’re in East Looe now,” Luna informed, looking at the map and Hermione’s detailed notes. “The Looe River runs through the town and divides it into two.” </p><p>      They were now in front of a highly populated beach. Families, couples, and friend groups filled the wide expanse of sand in front of them. A baby was wailing from somewhere in the distance, and there were thrilled shrieks and calls from beachgoers all around them. Harry felt his stomach lurch a little at the sheer amount of people and noise around him. He forced himself to breathe deeply. Ginny slipped her hand into his. Luna glanced at him and promptly began walking. They all trailed after her. </p><p>     “This is East Looe Beach, it’s a very tourist-y spot. If we just follow the sea defenses and go towards the eastern edge of the sea wall, we should find a small gap between the rocks. And there’s a beach there that should be quieter.” Luna said.</p><p>     “I don’t mind the noise, really,” Dean started. </p><p>     “I’d really like some quiet, if you don’t mind, Dean.” Ginny interrupted, and he nodded agreeably. </p><p>     Plaidy Beach was smaller and almost totally isolated. It was rockier, too, and they gingerly made their way to a soft patch of sand by the sea. There was a line of liquor bottles discarded near them and Seamus collected them in his arms, clambering up the rocks to throw them away in the bright green bin. Harry caught Dean smiling dopily at the sight. </p><p>     The five of them sat on the beach talking and laughing and looking out at the water.</p><p>     “So, Luna, what’s the latest with you and Neville?” Ginny asked bluntly. </p><p>     Luna waved her hand, though not in a demeaning way. “Oh, you know. I think he still figures himself in romantic love with me, but I know it’s not that. We got quite close with our time in the DA and everything, and I’ve always been kind to him when not everyone else has, so he thinks it’s love. It’s not, though, and I think he’s slowly coming around to it. We were talking last night, after you all went to bed, and he was, quite drunkenly, telling me he loves my friendship most of all. We’re a comfort to each other.” she said warmly. </p><p>     “But how do you know?” Dean blurted, staring at his shoes. </p><p>     “Know what?” she furrowed her pale brows. </p><p>     “How do you know that it’snotlove?” Dean said, very fast. </p><p>     Harry saw Ginny look from Dean to Seamus and then widen her eyes slightly at him.</p><p>     “What a question,” Luna laughed, “Philosophers and writers and poets have been trying to answer that for years, I suppose.” She turned a rock over in her hand and looked at Ginny, squinting as the sunlight hit her. “What do you think, Ginny? What is and isn’t love?”</p><p>     Ginny looked startled. </p><p>     “Me?” </p><p>     Luna nodded encouragingly, so Ginny continued.</p><p>     “I guess..when you love someone, they, you know, keep you on your toes, help you keep growing and stuff,” she said, a little embarrassed. Harry was sure she found this all very corny. She looked at him pointedly.</p><p>     “Er, I agree. Yeah. Growth.” Harry added.</p><p>     “How beautifully said!” Ginny cackled, and then pressed a kiss to his cheek. He saw Seamus quietly watching Dean. Luna was looking up at the clouds, but spoke again.</p><p>     “Well-said, Ginny. And for me? I prefer platonic love for myself, but in general I think love is a lot more than just sex or anything. Or even dates or romantic gestures. I think it’s really about who you feel connected to, who brings out the best in you, who,” Luna looked at the rubbish bin on the rocks, “reminds you to be good and smart and kind, not because of what they tell you but because of who they are.”</p><p>     A short silence followed, in which they all turned Luna’s words over in their mind. Harry chuckled.</p><p>     “Luna, I think you’ve solved what all those thinkers have been spending years trying to sort out!” </p><p>     Dean and Seamus were looking at each other with hard expressions, eyes shining. </p><p>     “Er, I think I fancy a quick walk along the coast,” Ginny got to her feet, and Luna and Harry scrambled up behind her, muttering words of agreement. They left Dean and Seamus to talk quietly. The three of them walked along the water, playing I Spy and throwing sly looks back at the pair. Ginny had just failed to guess Luna’s word, which was apparently something in the air that wasn’t visible to Harry or Ginny, when Harry gasped. His watch read 2:01 PM. </p><p>     “Oh, shit, we’re supposed to meet them back where we started!” he reached into his back pocket. </p><p>     “But this beach is so nice,” Ginny yawned and stretched widely, “tell them to come here!” </p><p>     Harry pulled out his shard of the two-way mirror and peered into it. A moment later, he saw Ron’s familiar brown eyes. </p><p>     “Oi, mate, where are you all?” </p><p>     Harry heard Hermione’s concerned voice in the back. He explained how to get to Plaidy Beach before putting the glass back in his jeans. A quick look revealed that Dean and Seamus were sitting closer together than before, laughing about something. They hesitantly approached the two boys, who urged them to sit down, waving away their reluctance to interrupt a private conversation. </p><p>     “Everyone will join us in just a—oh, there they are!” Harry shouted, pointing. Through the gap in the rocks of East Looe Beach, the rest of their friends emerged, carrying many bags. Lavender set down her differently colored plastic bag to reveal ice lollies for all of them, plus extra. </p><p>     “The seller was so happy to get his last ones of the day off his hands, so I couldn’t say no,” she explained.</p><p>     “No complaints there,” Harry assured her, grabbing two. He pointedly ignored Hermione when she suggested they eat lunch first. She rolled her eyes and pulled out creamy prawn, salmon, veggie, and crab sandwiches, tuna-filled french sticks, and some baguettes with warm cheese and strawberry jam. </p><p>     They adjusted their seating positions to fit everyone and then the beach was filled with the sounds of ten teenagers shoveling food into their mouths and excitedly filling each other in about their afternoons. At one point, Harry noticed Dean resting his head on Seamus’s shoulder, closing his eyes with a content expression on his face. He saw Ginny looking, too, and squeezed her hand, feeling very happy indeed.</p><p>    After they ate, they laid around lazily. Harry started humming a popular Sorting Hat Song tune, very off-key, until Ron threatened to sacrifice him to the seagulls. He got to his feet, then, crossing his arms in what he imagined was a menacing gesture. Ron did, too, and then they were wrestling, as they had hundreds of times before. The rest of the group made bets on who would emerge victorious.</p><p>     “One chip on Ron,” Ginny called. Harry threw her a look of faux-hurt. </p><p>     Hermione produced a volleyball from her bag, which they all passed around. While most of them just threw it like a Quaffle, Hermione was decent at setting and volleying it, and clearly proud to finally have a sport that she was an equally competent participant in. </p><p>     “Wow, Hermione, you’ve really got an arm, you’ve got to let me try to coach you in Quidditch again!” Ron said excitedly, and she accepted, a little wary but beaming under the praise. </p><p>     They left Plaidy Beach and walked around the town for a while, visiting the local museum (where they were, once again, given very exasperated looks, but now by both the museum workers and a frazzled Hermione who was dedicated to learning the town’s heritage), and the Wild Future Monkeys Sanctuary, an underfunded refuge for endangered primates (where Parvati and Lavender promptly fell in love with a small orangutan and Dean and Seamus helped clean the cages by slyly pointing their wands). </p><p>     Finally, Neville looked up at the sky and said, “the sun’s almost setting, we should head back.”</p><p>     The mood temporarily dimmed when they thought of the long walk ahead. </p><p>     “You know...about the whole no-magic rule…” Hermione trailed off. “I know it’s a matter of principle, but..” Ron nodded, pressing her forward with wide eyes. </p><p>     “Come on, Granger!” Seamus shouted. </p><p>     “Oh, let’s Apparate then!” Hermione giggled. There was a chorus of cheers and Ron led them all in a chorus of “Granger is our King!” They found a secluded enough spot in an alley. Harry Apparated alongside Ginny, not wanting to risk messing up again. After a visit to the washrooms, they had all showered and gathered by the fire, exhausted. Ron, Parvati, and Neville busied themselves over the portable stove, preparing dinner using salmon and lettuce that had been purchased from the market and Ron’s detailed notes. Harry tried to pay attention to the quiet chatter but kept dozing off. He must have really fallen asleep, because when he was finally woken by a brash, quickly stifled laugh, everyone was eating. Ron handed him his plate and Harry accepted graciously. The fish was deliciously fragrant and he wolfed it down, going back for seconds, too, absently listening to Neville explain a magical plant that had just been discovered. Stretching, Harry rubbed his face roughly, pushing his hair up. He was suddenly aware of laughs from his friends around him—at him. </p><p>      “What….” he asked slowly, setting his plate down into his lap. Neville averted his eyes guiltily, but Harry had seen them resting on the space above his eyebrows—a stare familiar to him all his life. He frowned in confusion and pulled out his shard of the two-way mirror again, directing it at his forehead. Behind his now pushed-up bangs, a very rude drawing of male genitalia looked back at him. Ron smiled wickedly, brandishing a red marker in his fingers. Harry slowly put the mirror down and started laughing along with his friends. Even Hermione was fighting a smile. <br/><br/>     His stomach full and bones tired from the journey, Harry went to bed early. He lay in the warmth of his blanket contentedly, falling asleep to the sound of all his best friends talking and laughing softly. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Was very proud of Chapter 4 and this one....eh. I'm finding it challenging to keep writing well now (although I'm definitely excited for the final chapter). I think I'm going to make Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 (the last two days of the camping trip) in a different, shorter, style because I'm worried about things getting dragged on since there's no real conflict in this story. If you have thoughts, let me know!</p><p>The comments have been giving me my serotonin for the week and really encouraging me so thank you to everyone who's commented! Thank you for reading as always.</p><p>References/Notes:<br/>- Harry is unaffected by hangovers as James was in ATYD. It IS genetic.<br/>- It was really important for me in this chapter that they act like real teenagers, so they're not meant to be perfect angels. I definitely annoyed many shopkeepers with my friends at this age, which is why I included that. I also didn't mean for the discussion of love to be like a super profound realization for the reader; I tried to make Ginny and Harry's answers with a level of depth that would fit their ages, although I just feel like Luna would be brilliant beyond her years.<br/>- Lavender is black in this story, as she was in the books.<br/>- I got my information about Looe, including the geography and the beaches, off online. I fabricated the details of the tourist shop. Hermione bought lunch from https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g186237-d8692848-Reviews-or10-Sandwich_Bar-Looe_Cornwall_England.html.<br/>- I often forget this detail, so remember that Luna is a year younger.<br/>- Luna commentated the Quidditch match her fifth year (Harry's sixth year) and was a hit because of how blunt and unfocused her commentary was.<br/>- Ron would eventually lose his bet on the Cannons, although with his head raised high and a promise to prove them wrong the next season.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Interlude: Nightmares</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Interlude. Harry wakes up in the middle of the night after he has a nightmare on their camping trip.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello! You do not need to read this chapter to get any of the rest (although there's a tiny bit of foreshadowing to soemthing)! I know this is meant to be a happy fic and this chapter was just an extra little blurb to indicate the scars that the war leaves.</p><p>NOT a fluffy/happy chapter although the ending/general tone is meant to be hopeful. Content warning for mentions of major character deaths, nightmares, and recreational drug use.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Harry jolted awake suddenly and lay there, his chest heaving. It was impossibly hot, so he extricated himself from the pile of blankets as carefully as he could without waking Ginny, feeling the rush of cool air relieve him a little bit. He gingerly touched his forehead and found that he was clammy from sweat. Ginny lay motionless next to him, and Harry watched her for a little. She looked so calm when she was asleep, red hair fanned behind her on the pillow, freckles pale, mouth slightly open. He had a strange, jarring vision of Fred’s body and jerked away, scrambling to his feet and pulling his sneakers on. Ginny stirred a little, but then stilled again. It was a little chilly outside, and Harry was grateful to find his thoughts becoming clearer in the fresh air. He squinted—there was someone else up, sitting by the giant oak tree. He rummaged through the pocket of his light jacket for his glasses. When he pulled them out, a small silver-wrapped square dropped to the ground too. He hurriedly bent to put it back on his pocket and jammed his glasses on. Neville and Luna were by the tree, passing something back and forth. He approached them cautiously.</p><p>     “Harry!” Neville cried, beckoning him closer. Luna smiled dreamily, inhaling from the joint in her fingers. Neville was sprawled backwards on a blanket, while Luna was sitting up against the tree, her knees to her chest.  Harry sank to the ground by them wordlessly. The night had an unreal quality about it, and he was afraid to break it. </p><p>     “Couldn’t sleep?” Luna asked. </p><p>     “No. Well, yes, I slept, but I woke up. Bad dream.” Harry’s voice was gravelly.</p><p>     “Weird how they show up even when your day has been bloody great, isn’t it?” Neville mused. He offered the cigarette to Harry. Harry hesitated, and then shook his head. Neville shrugged. </p><p>     “Yeah. No rhyme or reason, I suppose,” Harry agreed. He propped his arms behind him and stretched his legs out. “Same reason for you two, then?” </p><p>     “I have trouble falling asleep in general, since everything,” Neville gestured to the joint and smiled wryly, “unless I smoke these, that is.” </p><p>     “And I just fancied a smoke and wanted to keep him company,” Luna yawned. “Although I probably should get back to sleep soon.”</p><p>     “What time is it?” Harry wondered.</p><p>     “About 3. What was your dream about?” Luna asked. Harry blinked at her abrupt transition. Neville swatted at Luna’s ankle lightly.</p><p>     “Er...I don’t really fully remember. I think, um, Sirius and Ron had both been captured by Voldemort, or something. And I was at the Dursleys, and Hedwig came to tell me, only she could speak. They were trapped in Malfoy Manor, but there were mermaids for some reason. And when I got there, Sirius was Lupin, I don’t know why.And I had to choose one of them to save—Ron or Lupin.” </p><p>The chittering of bugs and soft murmurings of trees was all that Harry could hear for a few seconds.<br/>
     “Who did you pick?” Luna asked softly. Harry started, and looked to Neville for help. Neville widened his eyes meaningfully at Luna. Luna continued, “You don’t have to say—” </p><p>     “Ron. I chose Ron. And then all I could hear was Lupin screaming, and Voldemort killed Ron anyway.” Harry said flatly, his voice almost a whisper. </p><p>     “I’m really sorry, mate.” Neville said. He got up from his position on the ground to hug Harry tightly. Harry stiffened at first, and then relaxed. Neville squeezed him until he had to choke out a “<em> that’s good, Neville, </em> I <em> might die! </em>” The round-faced boy rocked back on his heels, grinning sheepishly. “I guess I’m becoming more and more like Nan, huh?”</p><p>     Harry laughed and glanced at Luna, who had a wistful sort of look on her face.</p><p>     “You dreamt about someone you wish you could have saved, and someone you’d do anything to protect now.” Luna said thoughtfully. Harry scratched the back of his head. </p><p>     “Er..yeah. Yeah, I suppose.” </p><p>     “Even though you’ve saved so many, and protected all of us. And we’d all save and protect you too, Harry.” Luna continued, looking at him very seriously. He felt his cheeks growing warm a bit, from Luna’s candid way of speech. He and Ron and Hermione had once found it very awkward, but now he thought that was more a fault of theirs than Luna’s. </p><p>     “You don’t always have to be the hero, Harry.” Neville had laid down again and crossed his arms behind his head, looking at the stars above them. Harry grabbed a beach towel sitting on a foldable chair nearby and laid it out, getting to the ground himself. The more he looked at the sky, the more stars seemed to appear. It was dizzying. Neville turned his head to Harry again. “You really don’t. I hope you know that even if we do know you were the savior of the wizarding world, we also see you as a good friend, a terrible dancer, a cringey joke-teller, a bloke with the worst morning breath I’ve ever smelt—”</p><p>     “Alright, I get it,” Harry interrupted him sarcastically, laughing breathlessly. </p><p>     Harry felt himself growing sleepier. He dimly watched Luna put the cigarette out and lean her head back against the tree, finding it quite hard to keep his eyes open.</p><p>     "I could've gone on, you know." Neville said in a very sleepy voice. </p><p>     "I know," Harry said, feeling himself smile.</p><p>Harry briefly recognized Ginny’s tired face above him, draping a warm sheet over him and kissing his forehead. </p><p>     “Sleep well, love. Quidditch tomorrow morning, you’ll need the energy for when I thrash you,” Ginny murmured before she stepped away. Then he felt himself fall into a deep and easy darkness, free of nightmares.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Young Hearts Run Free</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The group goes to the beach again, visits the castle ruins (the very same that the ATYD characters went to!), and has a night of dancing and drinks. Harry finds something surprising.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A shorter chapter! One more left!!! Lots of ATYD references in this one.</p><p>CW for some kissing and implied sexual content (truly nothing explicit, almost a fade to black), some sexual innuendo (jokes), drinking.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     The second-to-last day of their camping trip passed by blissfully. Harry had to revise his earlier assessment of when he had laughed the hardest; it had to be when Ron got overtaken by an enormous wave right as he was boasting about his prowess in the sea. Ron emerged from the water spluttering and grinning from ear to ear, his red hair dark and stuck to his forehead. </p><p>     “For just a second, I swear, I was riding the wave, like a proper surfer!” Ron declared. This sent the boys into another fit. Harry clutched his sides, gasping, as Dean and Seamus imitated Ron’s fall. Ron pouted and splashed a lot of water at them, which resulted in a full on battle between all the boys and Ginny. Ultimately, Neville won, partly because he had the advantage of wearing swimming goggles. The others conceded to him in turn, their eyes and throats stinging from the saline. Hermione and Luna had gone off to explore a quaint little town nearby, promising to bring back warm Cornish pasties, and Lavender and Parvati were building an elaborate sandcastle, mimicking a group of young children nearby for directions because, apparently, sandcastles were yet to enter the wizarding world. </p><p>     Afterwards, Hermione and Luna appeared with greasy white paper bags in their hands stuffed to the brim with pasties. They all flopped down on beach towels and dove in, their lips shiny from the oil and the flaky crust littered all over their swimming outfits. Ginny sat across him with her legs splayed out, sucking the last of the jam from her pasty from her fingers. The sun was warm on Harry’s bare back as he lay on his stomach, and he watched his friends chattering away. Sometimes he felt like he was watching a film, a coming-of-age comedy. It still seemed unreal that this friend group, these moments, this joy, was <em> his. </em>He was content to just be the audience sometimes, though, propping his chin up with his hands and smiling along to the quips that were exchanged between his friends. </p><p>     Or maybe the hardest he laughed was when they went to the old ruins of a castle nearby, making the five-mile trek on only the snacks in Hermione’s bag because they had made the hasty decision of skipping breakfast after waking up late. Halfway through, they were starving and Hermione cheerily produced energy bars. Neville took one bite of it and looked green. </p><p>     “What the hell is this?” he gaped, turning the packaging over. </p><p>     “Well, my parents are dentists, so they’re health-conscious, you know. These are sugar-free, fat-free, and additive-free!” </p><p>     “Taste-free, too,” Seamus grumbled, chewing with a concentrated effort. Harry grimaced at his own bar. Hermione glanced at Ron a little nervously. He was quietly eating his bar with a very strained smile.</p><p>     “You know, it’s really not that bad,” he said, his eyes bulging a little. Hermione scoffed and pressed a kiss on his cheek.</p><p>     The castle was a gray, peeling affair that may have been prettier in better lighting but looked gloomy in the overcast sky. It did, however, make an excellent location for a game (or ten) of hide &amp; seek. Harry proved to be the worst seeker that anyone had ever encountered, the irony of which was not lost on the group. </p><p>     “Mate, how in the world,” Ron said through laughter, when Harry conceded his turn after only finding Dean and Hermione, “are you worse at finding nine young adults than a golden ball the size of Merlin’s-” </p><p>     Neville’s stomach growled loudly at that moment. Hermione clapped a hand to her forehead. </p><p>     “Oh, of course! There’s a little shop just past that clearing, according to the map. It won’t have anything very nutritious, but..” </p><p>     They proceeded to eat many bags of crisps and packets of cookies and wander around the ruins. The clouds were parting and brilliant sunlight shone through the crevices, illuminating the castle up beautifully. The no-magic rule was fading in novelty and, subsequently use very quickly, so Harry, Dean, Seamus, Ginny, Ron, and a warily-roped-in Parvati ended up summoning their brooms from the campsite. They played an extremely modified version of Quidditch that Harry privately thought resembled a game of keepaway more than the illustrious wizarding sport, but they had to make do with the limited roster. Luna provided a hilarious commentary from the ground. </p><p>     Later, Harry walked through the ruins aimlessly, wondering who had occupied it so long ago. Hermione had sulked as she told them earlier that she was unable to find any information on its original uses, except that it was probably destroyed in a war. Harry thought of a family living here, sitting around what might have been a large dining table, retelling the events of their day. He had a sudden vision of his future. He could have <em> family dinners </em>, he thought with awe. It was a strange concept, that something like that was within his grasp. Harry picked up a dandelion from the overgrown patch and blew, wishing that no war would destroy this dream. </p><p>     Roaming around, Harry ran his fingers over the top of a parapet, reading the graffiti decorating it. He could see Neville, Ron, and Dean having an earnest sword fight with some sticks they must have found on the ground in the distance. He had just made to join them when he realized what he had just read and whirled around, squatting to look at the wall. Most of the writing and drawing was faded paint, but there was one area where initials had been carved into the stone, perhaps with a pointed stick. It read:</p><p>“J.P. </p><p>R.L.</p><p>P.P.</p><p>S.B.</p><p>(MARAUDERS)</p><p>WERE HERE!</p><p>- 15/07/77”</p><p>     The initials were all done in different handwritings, and Sirius had written the bottom part as well, his As so sloppy that they were barely legible. Harry sank to the floor, tracing the letters with his finger wondrously. His father had been here. And Lupin, and Sirius. And Peter. Harry heard someone come up behind him. </p><p>     “Holy shit.” Ron exhaled. He got on the ground by Harry, their arms touching comfortably, and studied the writing too. “That’s really cool.” </p><p>     Ron handed Harry the disposable camera that Harry recognized was Ginny’s purchase from Looe. Harry clicked a picture and then they sat in silence watching the wall for a while. </p><p>     “What do you think they did here?” Harry asked breathlessly.</p><p>     “Probably something really clever, we know they made the Marauder’s Map. Maybe some elaborate prank or heist.” Ron chuckled. ‘Or maybe they had pretend sword fights with sticks too.” Harry laughed along at the idea.</p><p>     They got to their feet, brushing the dust off their jeans and joining the rest of the group. </p><p>     “What were you two staring at, sitting there by the parapet?” Dean asked curiously.</p><p>     Harry hesitated, not wanting, a little selfishly, to share what he had found just quite yet. Ron immediately jumped in.</p><p>     “Oh, we were trying to puzzle out some rude graffiti that was hard to read. It had some very interestingly suggestive drawings accompanying it,” Ron said dismissively, leading them to the path back home and directing the conversation away. Harry smiled at him. </p><p>     Back at the campsite, the more painful consequences of the day revealed itself to some of them: sunburns. Despite the sunscreen that Hermione had made him slather on, Ron’s pale skin was peeling. Ginny, Neville, and Seamus had been handed similar fates, and after a visit to the shower block, they laid around with a soothing magical gel applied all over. They were playing a game that Dean had invented, called <em> What Can’t Magic Do? </em>The purpose was to continue listing the feats that a spell couldn’t accomplish. The funnier, the better. The suggestions began harmlessly enough—”removing nail polish,” Hermione said knowingly—but quickly devolved into the outrageous—”erectile dysfunction, apparently, according to the book I read last week!” Hermione howled ten minutes later. </p><p>     “The Muggles are better at getting their ends off, huh?” Seamus chortled.</p><p>     Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione made dinner over the portable stove, handing them all plates of mackerel and mash (Luna got some braised vegetables with her potatoes).  The fish was deliciously and richly seasoned, and Harry’s eyes watered. </p><p>     “‘I've never liked mackerel so much before!” Neville said in surprise, his mouth full.</p><p>     “Well, you’ve got to start putting more than just salt and pepper on it, I expect,” Lavender said slyly, and giggled with Parvati. Neville poked his tongue out at them and dug into the meal again happily. </p><p>     Dean attempted to teach them some Portuguese phrases. It was an activity they had attempted in their dorm room at Hogwarts many times before, after discovering that Dean wrote home in the language.</p><p>     “Eu como merda.” Ron pronounced carefully after him. Dean gave him a thumbs up, his lips pressed together very tightly. Ron beamed, and then paused, eyeing the other boy suspiciously. “And that means I love you?” </p><p>     Dean collapsed into laughter then. </p><p>     “I eat shit, I presume. Similar to French,” Luna grinned. Ron yelped and threw a broccoli at Dean’s head. </p><p>     Cider was passed around, and they sat around sleepily. The boombox was brought out again. A soft R&amp;B song began to play at Lavender’s request. (“<em> Young Hearts Run Free,” </em>she informed them. “From this incredible film we watched!”). They were all too lazy to get up and change the song, so it played over and over while they all talked, ate, and joked around. By the fifth play, Harry had to admit it was pretty catchy. Most of them had learned the words to the chorus. Harry sang along to it softly. </p><p>
  <em> Oh, young hearts run free, </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Never be hung up, hung up like my man and me, my man and me </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Oh, young hearts, to yourself be true </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Don't be no fool when love really don't love you, don't love you. </em>
</p><p>     Lavender and Parvati were the first to get up and start dancing. They were really very good and the group watched them, mesmerized, until Parvati basically pulled Luna up to dance too. Then they were all up, giggling and moving to the music. Their dancing ranged from complicated dips and shimmies (Neville, Parvati, Lavender) to hesitant side-steps and snaps (Harry, Ron) to flailing arms and legs that seemed to have been taken over by the rhythm of the song (everybody else). The girls all formed a circle as they danced, belting the words:</p><p>
  <em>It's high time now just one crack at life </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Who wants to live in, in trouble and strife </em>
</p><p>
  <em>My mind must be free, to learn all I can about me, uh-hmm</em>
</p><p>   Harry sidled over to Ginny, bouncing his head to the beat. “Relax your limbs, Harry,” Ginny whispered, smiling at him and leading him as she swayed, her body close to his. He tried to mirror her dancing seriously but unfortunately caught Ron’s eye and then couldn’t stop laughing. Ginny rolled her eyes good-naturedly. The night was a whirl of music and dancing, until most of them collapsed in turn back into their chairs or onto the towels on the floor, laughing exhilaratedly. Only Lavender, Parvati, and Luna remained standing, looking hypnotized by the music and moving very languidly. Luna was doing a very odd sort of movement that resembled some type of sea creature, but it had its own endearing charm. </p><p>     Ron and Hermione, sitting on the ground, had gotten <em> very </em>close to each other and were making disgustingly sappy faces at each other, which the rest of them tried to ignore. Seamus was throwing bits of bread onto the ground to a small group of sparrows. Harry wasn’t sure if they ate bread, though, from the way they pecked at it lazily. Only after Seamus directed his throws to the back of Ron’s head did Ron emerge from his embrace with Hermione, out of breath. Hermione blinked at them as if she had forgotten they were there. </p><p>     “Er..I’m tired, aren’t you?” Hermione blurted, getting to her feet. </p><p>     “Knackered.” Ron grinned, winking at Harry and leading Hermione back to their tent. They heard a Silencing Charm being cast very loudly. </p><p>The leftover chocolate pasties were distributed. </p><p>     "Last night, huh?” Neville said. </p><p>     “Yeah,” Dean replied glumly. </p><p>     “It’s been a fucking <em> time </em>, though!” Parvati added. “We’ve got to do this again. Like..every summer or something!”</p><p>The idea was marvelous, and everyone agreed instantly.</p><p>     “We’ll Apparate back very late tomorrow night, Hermione said.” Ginny said, very suddenly. Harry was a little startled by the abrupt transition, but was too invested in his pasty to think about it too much. Subsequently, he missed the <em>t</em><em>oo obvious! </em>that a wide-eyed Neville mouthed to her. </p><p>Oasis’s record was playing now, and Harry found he quite liked it. He was half-listening to it, half arguing with Dean about a Quidditch play that they had always disagreed on the proper mechanics of, when Ginny put her head on his shoulder.</p><p>     “You look exhausted,” Ginny whispered to him. </p><p>     “I’m actually feeling pretty awake- <em> oh, </em> okay, yeah.” Harry said, catching on after she poked his side. The two of them bid everyone goodnight (Seamus made kissy faces at them) and went into their tent where they proved Seamus right. Harry only pulled away to sing along to the chorus of <em> Wonderwall. </em>Ginny stared at him and then began laughing hysterically at the absurdity of it all, leaning in to kiss him again through both their laughs. Maybe that was the hardest he had ever laughed, Harry thought. And he decided that his inability to pick just one moment was the best problem he had ever had.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>One more chapter left, y'all! I have a couple more things I'm really excited to write about, so hang in there! If there's something you'd like to see them doing, let me know. I'd love to write a little bonus chapter or something! Especially if it's angsty :) </p><p>References/Research:<br/>- The Muggleborns teach the purebloods how to make sandcastles in All The Young Dudes! They really don't exist in the wizarding world.<br/>- In All The Young Dudes, they all visit the old ruins of a castle. That's exactly where this idea was lifted from. Read that fic if you haven't! It's the best!<br/>- I just wanted them to have Hermione's dentist-safe snacks, lol. It was just a random thing I thought would happen.<br/>- In ATYD, James, Sirius, and Peter have a sword fight with sticks. I thought it would be cute to have that repeated, and the little ironic line by Ron about it. It's a bit on-the-nose but oh well ;)<br/>- Dean speaks Portuguese because Alfred Enoch, the actor in the HP movies, does (he's English-Brazilian!)<br/>- This chapter's theme song is Young Hearts Run Free. The version Lavender is referring to is recorded by Kym Mazelle for the romantic tragedy film "Romeo+Juliet" (a huge hit in 1995), although the original song, that they are playing in this chapter, is by Candi Station. The idea of choosing a song as a theme song is inspired by MsKingBean89, of course.<br/>- As Remus wandered the castle ruins, he thought about the soldiers that must have been there and left graffiti. Harry thinks, instead, of a family living in the castle.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Fame, Funfairs, and The Fruits of Friendship</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The camping trip comes to a close. Harry goes for an early morning "fly", they all go to town, Neville realizes he's attractive, a traveling funfair (carnival) brings lots of new experiences, and Harry's obliviousness does him some good.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>FINAL CHAPTER! No content warnings, enjoy.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry woke up very early the next morning, hoping to watch the sunrise on their last morning in Cornwall. He tried to shake Ginny awake.</p><p>     “The sun rises every day, I’ll catch it tomorrow..” she moaned into her pillow after he had called her name thrice. Harry gave up. He pulled his sneakers on, grabbing his broom as he stepped out of the tent. The campsite was eerily quiet, even the birds and bugs sleeping. When he focused, he could hear the soft breaths of people sleeping in the tents around him, and some snoring too. After a moment, Harry straddled his broom and kicked off from the ground. He lifted off into the air easily and he marveled in the way the Firebolt Supreme moved again. It had somehow surpassed even the Firebolt; it truly felt like he was flying by himself. The immediate relief upon being up in the air was palpable; <em> Ah, now I can </em>think, he thought. He rose up twenty feet, fifty feet, until he was sure that a Muggle early riser wouldn’t spot him. Flying around the campsite, he looked down at the six tents that dotted the stretch of grass. From here, they looked like specks. Then he headed towards the beach, cutting corners smoothly and grinning at this broom’s ability to maintain a consistent speed with only the slightest bit of effort. Harry gave a silent thanks to Andromeda Tonks; she had gifted it to him shortly after the restoration efforts at Hogwarts finished, stepping away at Tonk’s memorial service to show him the package. Harry had tried to refuse, but she insisted. Harry thought of Andromeda and little Teddy then. Teddy had started to sleep through the night more often, and Harry privately thought that the wolf plush toy that Harry had gifted the baby may have had something to do with it. </p><p>     It was still very dark outside, and Harry squinted down at the water. The waves were glossy and dark, harshly slapping against the sand. Harry saw a plastic cup floating along with one of the waves and murmured a quick <em> scourgify. </em>Then he zipped away, flying as fast as he could down the beach. The wind whipped at him so quickly that his cheeks stung, but he found his face splitting into the grin that only flying could so readily bring out of him. Today was special. It was not only the last day in Cornwall, but his last day of being seventeen. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second (trusting his instincts in a way that would have made Mrs. Weasley shriek), trying to bottle the feeling of this morning.</p><p>     The sky had begun to lighten, and he slowed down, watching the horizon crack open in shades of orange and pink. The sound of bird calls began to fill the sky. Harry hovered there for a while as the sun slowly unveiled itself, wrapping the beach below in gold. </p><p>     An hour later, he was back at the campsite, sipping a cup of tea. Hermione was awake too, looking through the schedule for the day and nibbling at a croissant. </p><p>     “Pretty relaxed day today, am I right?” Harry ventured a guess. He had looked at the timetables once and then never again, content to let someone else remember their plans for each day. </p><p>     “Yeah, I suppose. There’s a good place to eat in one of the small towns nearby, and then we could do some hiking, sit by the beach again, just, er..you know, <em> chill </em>a bit.” </p><p>     Harry smiled into his mug. <em> Chill </em>was not a word that Hermione Granger was often found saying. </p><p>     “Sounds good. And we’ll Apparate later at night, yeah?” </p><p>     Hermione looked startled. “Er..yeah. Who told you that?”</p><p>     “Ginny said, I think. Why? Was I not supposed to know?” Harry laughed. Hermione laughed too, very quickly. </p><p>     “Oh, just wondering. Yeah, our booking with the site doesn’t technically end until midnight or something, so I thought we could have one last night around the fire and everything. Ron wants to hear what Muggle ghost stories are like.” </p><p>     “That’ll be fun,” Harry yawned, leaning back in his chair to stretch. </p><p>     The rest of their friends slowly rose and surfaced from their tents. They had a lazy breakfast, during which Neville told them all some exciting news.</p><p>     “I’ve been offered an apprenticeship under Professor Sprout, after I finish my studies! The letter showed up here this morning. If I do well, I’ll be a proper professor in the Herbology department.” </p><p>     “Mate!”</p><p>     “Holy shit!”</p><p>     “Blimey!”</p><p>     The group erupted in cheers and descended upon Neville with hugs and offers of congratulations. After everyone had told him how excited they were for him, Neville was finally allowed to sit back down and elaborate. His cheeks were very pink.</p><p>     “And are you going to take it, Neville?” Luna asked. Neville beamed around at them.</p><p>     “I think so, yeah. I think I might like some of the research side of being a professor, too,” he fiddled with his thumbs. “There are some newly discovered magical plants that could be promising for victims of the Cruciatus Curse. Nothing confirmed, yet. Anyway, it’s probably too late for Mum and Dad, but it could be life-changing for anyone who’s undergone something like that more recently, during the Second War.” </p><p>     There was a brief, awed silence while they all mulled over this information. Lavender was the first to speak.</p><p>     “That’s fantastic, Neville.” </p><p>     Hermione was covertly wiping her eyes. </p><p>     “We’re so happy for you, Neville,” she looked around at them proudly, and Harry was reminded of Mrs. Weasley. “A <em> professor! </em>We’re all really growing up, huh?” </p><p>     “Come off it, Hermione, we’re still all pretty thick.” Ginny giggled.</p><p>     “Speak for yourself,” Hermione stuck her tongue out at her. </p>
<hr/><p>     It was Harry and Ron’s turn to do the dishes this time, and they went down to the water pump outside the shower block to rinse off all the plates and mugs and lug them back in two baskets. Afterwards, everyone dressed and they headed to the nearby town. It was much smaller than Looe, a quaint little spot tucked away into the countryside. Hermione and Ron led them all to a small cafe with a very faded blue-and-white striped awning in front. </p><p><em>      Val’s Diner, </em>the sign hung askew proclaimed. The interior was even shabbier, but lunch ended up being one of the most delicious meals that Harry had ever eaten. They sat around the rickety plastic table, crammed into a corner of the tiny restaurant, munching happily and listening to Neville describe the line of eccentric elderly witches and wizards who had been visiting his home since the War ended. </p><p>     “They all want to see the DA coin, I know I shouldn’t have mentioned it to Nan.” </p><p>     “So that’s how that nasty hag knew about it!” Parvati exclaimed. “Oh, not your nan! I meant Rita Skeeter,” she elaborated. “She’s been contacting me every single day and just recently asked me if she could study my DA coin!”</p><p>     “Nan and her gossipy friends!” Neville groaned. </p><p>     “Same about Rita, though,” Harry interjected. “She’s been relentless.”</p><p>     Hermione said some very unkind words about the pointy-faced writer who had absolutely no journalistic integrity. Luna piped up in agreement.</p><p>     “She’s suddenly interested in the Quibbler, too. She said the paper was a load of balderdash for the longest time, but after the story of Voldemort’s return went so big, she’s had an eye on us. And now she writes to us all the time, asking us to tell ‘the harrowing account’ of our kidnapping and whether Dobby could have been a double agent when he was helping us escape.” Luna rolled her eyes and scoffed. Harry felt a surge of anger at the almost-certainty that Rita Skeeter would publish a story defaming Dobby; she tended to say whatever she pleased.</p><p>     The sun’s rays filtered through the window by them and turned bits and pieces of the scene at the table gold: some strands of Ginny’s hair, the side of Dean’s neck, Harry’s fingers. </p><p>     “People in general have been starting to swarm us lately,” Hermione said grimly. “I think they’ve been keeping away because of grieving periods and all, for the formality at the least, that beetle-faced asshole not included, but they’re going to come out in full force at some point. Asking us to tell our story or whatever.” </p><p>     Harry stirred his spoon in his lemonade, thinking. </p><p>     “It’s weird how we’ve been made heroes,” Ron mused. “George reckons my head’s literally gotten bigger. Like physically."</p><p>     “Maybe we need to do some really notorious things, so that we’re in the public eye for something <em> not </em>awe-inspiring! Make ourselves out to be villains, not heroes. Take all the attention off the war!” Ginny exclaimed. </p><p>     “What will we do?” Hermione grinned, playing along. </p><p>     “Draw something really awful on that blasted statue of Snape they’ve put up.” Neville said.</p><p>     “Tear down those wretched statues in the Ministry lobby.” Hermione offered.</p><p>     “Use some of the resources they’re wasting on bullshit like the Triwizard Tournament to solve world hunger.” Dean retorted, his tone only half-joking.</p><p>     “Set a cage full of Cornish pixies loose into Malfoy Manor.” Seamus beamed.</p><p>     “Get very drunk in public and sing those Muggle songs we listened to yesterday -” Ron chipped in. </p><p>     “- from the top of the tables in the Great Hall.” Harry finished.</p><p>     “Do one of the pranks in Fred and George’s notebook that they never attempted.” Ginny said thoughtfully. </p><p>     “Fill the lake outside Hogwarts with bubbles,” Lavender remarked. </p><p>     “Swim in it and befriend the giant squid, somehow.” Parvati added. </p><p>     “And all of these schemes will definitely keep the journalists away,” Luna said skeptically, her eyebrow raised and her mouth twitching. This made everyone laugh. </p><p>     After an hour more of conversation, the grumpy old waiter had asked them if they were ready for the bill four times, his face growing more irritated each time they politely asked for a few more minutes. Finally, Hermione paid and they all left Val’s Diner. Hermione, Ginny, and Luna linked arms as they walked around the town, looking for something to occupy their time with. They ended up at a quaint ice cream parlor that promised <em> The Creamiest Ice-Cream in England! </em>Ginny raised her eyebrows at him over her very tall swirl of strawberry ice cream. </p><p>     “What’s your verdict, Potter?” she faux-whispered. “Is it the creamiest ice-cream in England?”</p><p>     “Hmm…” Harry said, licking his two scoops of chocolate thoughtfully. “You know, I feel like I need more evidence to really make an accurate judgement.”</p><p>He darted forward at her cone, making her shriek playfully, trying and failing to hold it away from him. Harry made a humming sound while he tasted the strawberry in his mouth. </p><p>     “Yeah, I think it might really be the creamiest,” he declared. </p><p>They spent the afternoon strolling around the streets of the town, breaking up into twos or threes occasionally to step into a store or try some local delicacy. </p><p>At one point, Neville returned from a little bakery, carrying a bag of tiny pastries in one hand and his face beet-red. He shoved a small piece of paper into Seamus’s hands. Harry leaned over Seamus’s shoulder to look at it. There was a string of numbers on it. </p><p>     “Some Muggle girl gave me this paper and told me to call her!” Neville said, a little disbelievingly. Ginny made a noise of excitement and punched his shoulder. </p><p>     “How exciting!” she exclaimed.</p><p>     “Ooh, who was it?” Luna looked around curiously.</p><p>     “But—call her? What for?” Neville continued, looking very bewildered.  “I tried asking but she just laughed like I’d told a joke!” Harry covered his mouth and shook his head slowly. </p><p>     “She <em> likes </em>you, dimwit.” Seamus was shaking his head too. “She gave you her phone number because she thought you were cute.” </p><p>Neville looked astounded. Harry realized that Neville really had no idea that he was quite a handsome lad. </p><p>     “You <em> are </em> very cute, Neville. I hope you know that. If I liked men, I’d definitely go for you,” Parvati assured as they all sat down on a small park in the center of the square to eat their pastries. Neville looked even more taken aback at this admission, but glowed happily, even though he dismissed the idea of calling the girl. </p><p>     The next source of excitement came when Luna spotted a flyer hung up against the cobbled wall of a market. It advertised a traveling funfair that was in a nearby town for three nights—the upcoming night, the 30th, being the last one. </p><p>     “We’ve got to go!” Parvati cried, and they all agreed and then turned to Hermione hesitantly. </p><p>     “Oh, fuck the schedule!’ she grinned. </p>
<hr/><p>Many years later, when Harry would think back to his last night in Cornwall, at the funfair, he remembered a whirl of joy and exhilaration. Hermione had said, giggling, that she felt like she was five again. But being five had not been nearly this happy for Harry. This was something new entirely.</p><p> The memories that stood out:</p>
<ul>
<li>Riding his first rollercoaster, a small and rickety affair. He chose one of the cars in the middle, ignoring Ron and Seamus’s teasing that he was too afraid to choose the front or the back (Ginny and Lavender had been debating which of those two cars was scariest while they waited to ride). He <em>was </em>too afraid, in fact, but after the first drop, he promptly decided the adrenaline was far more fun and rode it three more times. </li>
<li>Trying candy floss for the first time in his life and getting sticky pink sugar all over his mouth. Harry had at least <em>seen</em> candy floss before, but the purebloods had only heard about it and were fascinated. Neville tried to lick his like an ice cream cone.</li>
<li>The mirror maze, which only Luna, Ron, and Ginny finally escaped out of. Hermione looked like she was going to be ill within minutes of entering the maze and called for help (as the attendant had told them they could). Harry lasted only a little longer before he was escorted out as well. Everyone waited outside and cheered raucously when Luna, Hermione, and Ginny came out the other end, looking a little dizzy. </li>
<li>Playing the games at the different side stalls throughout the fair. Ron got so competitive over a game of archery that he was hilariously close to tears when he finally beat Neville and Dean. Luna proved to be extraordinary at a ball-in-the-basket game, so much so that the worker who ran the stall stared with his mouth open. He finally handed her three stuffed animals, still awed, and she distributed two of the plushes to an excited Lavender and Parvati. </li>
<li>Stopping at a side stall where a lady with blue hair was doing dramatic face makeup for a small fee. Harry couldn’t decide what he wanted, so she did little pink hearts on his temples that were so glittery that they looked like they were flickering on and off. He ended up loving it, and was going to pay when she winked and whispered, “Harry Potter doesn’t need to pay at my stall!” and shooed him away. </li>
<li>Sitting atop a gilded ceramic horse on the carousel ride, and watching the multicolored world spin around him. Harry laughed giddily as Seamus attempted to stand up on his horse’s footrests without falling over. His friends, the colored lights, the twangy music booming through the speakers of the ride—it was bright, almost blindingly so, but Harry kept his eyes open all the way through.</li>
</ul>
<hr/><p>     After they Apparated back to the campsite, a little drunk from the pub they stopped at outside the funfair, they milled around the area. It was a chilly night, and they got the fire going. Lavender and Parvati began a round of karaoke, which Harry was much too embarrassed to join. Their rendition of “Careless Whisper” was very funny though, and it had half of the group in stitches, the other half joining in with tremulous voices. </p><p>     “We’ve got to put the tents away, don’t we…” Seamus suddenly groaned. </p><p>     “We don’t have to stop singing, though!” Luna sung. She was actually pretty good. The campsite was filled with the sounds of off-key singing, music from the boombox, and noises of struggle and triumph as tents were packed away. Ron’s research and Hermione’s extensive experience came in handy and they finished first and helped Harry and Ginny with theirs, too. </p><p>     “Want to go down to the beach for a bit?” Hermione asked. </p><p>     “You three go ahead, I’m going to try to get Dean and Seamus to try these Hair-Raising Hokums, George made me promise to get someone to taste-test them,” Ginny smiled wickedly, revealing two wrapped candies in her palm, and skipped off. </p><p>     So it turned out that just Harry, Hermione, and Ron went to the beach that last night. Harry was just feeling himself sober up when Ron revealed three cans of beer from behind his back, cheekily grinning. Ten minutes later, they were sitting on a stretch of boulders on the beach, sipping from the cans and looking out at the water. It was quiet, and Harry thought of the first morning in Cornwall. He realized now, that he had been quite <em> afraid </em> of what was to come. He needn’t have worried, he thought, looking to his right at Ron and Hermione and smiling. </p><p>     “Oi, what are you looking at us all sappily for?” Ron made a face. </p><p>     “Just, you know. Thinking about how nice this trip was.” </p><p>Ron hummed in agreement.</p><p>     “Our lives can be like this,” Hermione said, a little wondrously. </p><p>     “I’m afraid it won’t always be this good,” Harry blurted. The waves crashed over the sand loudly.</p><p>     “Well, of course it won’t.” Ron spoke up. He looked at Harry steadily. “It won’t always be good, it’s still <em> life. </em>Things go wrong all the time. But now, it’s different, it’s..it’s….” </p><p>     “Safe.” Hermione finished, and Ron pointed in a <em> that’s-it </em>sort of way. </p><p>     “Safe.” Harry repeated, turning the word over in his mouth. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small silver square that he had been carrying around for months now. Hermione looked at it curiously.</p><p>     “What is that? Chocolate?” Ron asked, leaning forward to see. Harry hesitated and then passed it over. </p><p>     “Yeah. Lupin gave it to me. It was his thing, remember? After he died….I dunno, I’ve been saving it. For some perfect or happy moment. For the perfect moment.” Harry felt very foolish saying this, and looked intently at his sneaker-clad feet swinging against the rock. He knew it was dumb, and just a piece of candy. It didn’t mean anything. But somehow Harry was afraid to let it go. </p><p>     “It’s just chocolate.” Hermione said softly. Harry felt himself redden at his inner thoughts being voiced aloud. <em>Hermione must be thinking I'm very immature</em>, he thought. But she ploughed on quickly. “No, I don’t mean that you’re silly or something, Harry. It makes sense why you’re carrying it around. It’s a- a- piece of him. What I meant is, your relationship with Professor Lupin is a lot bigger than this. It’s not going to lose its meaning if you eat the chocolate, nothing’s going to be less important or finished.” </p><p>     “Except the chocolate, that is. That’ll be finished.” Ron supplied, and Hermione shoved him. Harry laughed and found himself sniffling a little. </p><p>     “But Harry, I mean it. I know you want to wait for the perfect moment for a lot of things, that you want to find and create the <em> happiest </em>day or minute or experience. But maybe you don’t need to look for this one pinnacle of joy, you know? Maybe joy comes to you in bits and pieces, again and again. Maybe it chooses you.” </p><p>     Harry was certain he would cry if he talked, but he didn’t care.</p><p>     “Thanks Hermione. You need to write that down and put it on a pillow or something,” he said thickly, chuckling as he wiped his eyes. Ron looked at him seriously.</p><p>     “Blimey, Harry, I don’t know if you noticed, but Lupin’s face whenever you entered a room—I’ve never seen anything like it, except on Sirius, maybe. Always so happy to see you. I thought maybe they’d feel sad, a little, and remember all the times they had with your parents when they were young. But it was more like they were seeing a piece of their past right in front of them, and marvelling over it. Lupin was so bloody proud of you, mate, and Sirius was, too.” </p><p>     “For the love of Merlin, can you two stop making me blubber like this?” Harry said, both laughing and crying. “It’s not very manly, is it?” </p><p>     Hermione swatted at his shoulder. “I’ll have you know, Ron cries at any old picture or memory we talk about and it’s very manly to me.” Ron went red but nodded in confirmation. Hermione put her arms around Ron and Harry and pulled them close so that their heads rested on her shoulders.  Harry opened the small piece of chocolate and nibbled at it. It was delicious. He ate it slowly, savoring the sweetness on his tongue.</p><p>     The three of them sat there together, talking, as they had dozens of times before. Three people who understood each other in ways that nobody ever would, who had gone through heartbreaks and trials before they were even old enough to vote, who had faced down the greatest evil the world had to offer and made it through with so much love still in their hearts. </p>
<hr/><p>     “Alright, everybody all good to go?” Hermione called. They had all said their goodbyes to each other, promising to write and call and visit and plan another trip as soon as possible (Brazil and India were their top contenders for destinations). </p><p>     “Get home safe!” Dean waved. He and Seamus held their luggage and disappeared with a pop. </p><p>     “Bye! See you soon! Or—er, as soon as we can!” Lavender said hastily, turning on the spot at the same time as Parvati and Disapparating away. </p><p>Luna hugged Harry once more. “Dad must be waiting up for me!” she said, with a sideward glance at Hermione, and vanished. Neville followed, too. </p><p>     “Back to the Burrow, huh?” Harry stretched widely, yawning. </p><p>     “Are you sleepy, Harry?” Ron asked, a little anxious. </p><p>     “A bit. Let’s go home, yeah?” Harry smiled at the thought of the home that awaited him. A far cry from Privet Drive. </p><p>     “Sure!” Hermione said chipperly, and Disapparated away with Ron quite abruptly. </p><p>     “They couldn’t get away fast enough, huh?” Harry slung his backpack over his shoulders and grabbed his luggage. “Together or separately?” </p><p>     “I’ll get us there,” Ginny said, and clasped his hand. “Ready?” </p><p>Harry looked around at the campsite one last time, imagining his parents and their friends here, like he had done so many times during this trip. They had left this place and entered a war, he thought. But Harry was going home to the warmly lit and comforting Burrow, with his best friends, Mrs. Weasley, and the other Weasley siblings. Going home to family. Harry’s war was over. It was a bittersweet sort of joy. </p><p>     “Ready.” Harry confirmed. He shut his eyes. </p><p> </p><p>     Harry opened his eyes to see them standing on a stretch of wet grass about a mile away from the Burrow. </p><p>     “What happened?” he asked confusedly. Ginny furrowed her brows and looked around.</p><p>     “Ugh, I must have undershot by a little. Probably because we were leaving from a new location.” she said swiftly. “Let’s walk up?” </p><p>     They stepped through the marshy area, trying not to get their shoes all dirty. Harry grumbled a little about the weight of the luggage, but he didn’t mind too much. Ginny was good company. The two of them were in the midst of a debate about which year’s Halloween feast had been the most delicious (Harry insisted it was the year that Ginny hadn’t been at Hogwarts yet, which she refused to accept) when they arrived at the door of the Burrow. The windows were dark. </p><p>     “Hmm..is everyone asleep? Did Ron and Hermione go straight to bed?” Harry wondered aloud, trying to peer into a window. </p><p>     “The door should be open,” said Ginny behind him, fussing with a sticker on her duffel bag. </p><p>     Harry tried the door hesitantly and found it unlocked. Not very protective, he was thinking, when he pushed the door open and was greeted with an avalanche of noise and light. </p><p>     “SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” a loud chorus of voices bellowed at him. The kitchen was decorated with free-hanging streamers, balloons that glowed brightly, and other magical decorations everywhere he looked. And crammed into every corner of the room were people. Everyone who he had seen at the campsite moments before, plus more: Hagrid, McGonagall, Padma, Cho, Angelina, Lee, all the Weasleys, Fleur, Aberforth, and Andromeda with Teddy in her arms. He blinked, looking around, and checked his watch. It was shortly after 12. It was July 31st. He was eighteen. </p><p>     He felt a smile spreading across his face and was immediately covered in people hugging him, clapping his back, and wishing him again and again. </p><p>     “You guys knew about this?” he said, half-accusing, half-giddy, to Neville, Luna, and Parvati, who were sipping from cups of lemonade and trying to turn the telly on.</p><p>     “Of course, Harry. Did you think we would just let you turn eighteen without a big party? Most people didn’t think you’d make it this far, you know.” Luna said bluntly. Harry laughed in surprise. He flitted across the room, asking just about everyone from the Cornwall trip if they had known, still in disbelief that he hadn’t noticed anything (“Harry Potter, oblivious? Who would’ve thought?” Hermione said dryly). </p><p>     Harry felt like his heart was bursting when Andromeda handed him Teddy. He held the child in his arms, looking down. Teddy was beaming at him happily, his hair a shock of ginger. Harry gaped. </p><p>      “What-”</p><p>     “You were right in your guess! He’s got some Metamorphmagus abilities. Just went straight from black to red one day, when he was really excited about some ducks we saw at the park. Almost wrote it in my letter to you, but thought you’d want to see in person.” </p><p>      Harry felt like his cheeks would fall off from how happy he was. He said hello to everyone, soaking in their faces and news and, for once, not hating the attention. He was, however, starting to crave a bit of fresh air. Mercifully, Mrs. Weasley pulled him away to a quieter corner. </p><p>     “Thought you might need just a bit of space, dear,” she said kindly, holding his face in her arms and looking him over carefully. “How was camping, then?” </p><p>     “It was <em> wonderful, </em> Mrs. Weasley.”</p><p>     Harry was startled to see tears in her eyes. She brushed them away quickly and said, briskly, “Well, we’ve got to cut the cake now, don’t we? Eighteen! And still looking underfed, come on, let’s eat!” </p><p>     The cake was shaped like a Quidditch field, and a mini-Harry made of fondant was flying over it. George led everyone in a very rowdy chorus of “Happy Birthday”, which he insisted on doing in the jaunty tune of a jig. Harry shut his eyes tight and blew his candles out, wishing for more nights and days like this one.</p><p>     Harry spent the early hours of his eighteenth birthday with everyone he loved most in the world. And even though the Resurrection Stone was gone, he had a feeling his parents, and Sirius, and Lupin, were here too. If not in person, they were there in the love that filled this room.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that's the end of my first fanfiction. MAYBE I'll revisit this some time, because I do have a couple ideas for further character developments and other things that could have happened on the trip (the ghost stories that Hermione mentions). But for now, we're done. This has been such an experience, and I can't thank everyone who's read, left Kudos, and commented enough. I've really gotten to revisit my childhood love (HP) and my newer love (ATYD) and explore Harry's life once he's HAPPY and not being forced to fight in a war. I also got to practice my writing, "fix" things I didn't like, and explore characters I was less connected to. </p><p>One final thing: there’s a lot of things I want to go back and change, so I will be editing the fic within the next week! </p><p>I hope you liked it, and thank you again!</p><p>References/Research:<br/>- Firebolt Supreme is the newer model that came out according to HP Wiki.<br/>- In ATYD, Remus says “Ah, now I can think” after he takes the first drag of a cigarette. Harry says the same when he gets up in the air.<br/>- It's canon that Neville begins working in the Herbology department as a professor. It's actually canon that he was an Auror for a bit before, but I skipped that.<br/>- Funfair = carnival in UK English. Cotton candy = candy floss<br/>- Teddy did show his first signs of being a Metamorphmagus like Tonks as an infant, and his hair went from black to ginger to blue!<br/>- Just liked the idea of people from the Wizarding World having normal jobs (the makeup artist at the funfair). Initially, also had this brief exchange after she tells him he doesn't need to pay.<br/>He looked at her, surprised, and she grinned and blinked, her eyes going from green to blue instantaneously.<br/>“You’re a witch! And a Metamorphmagus!” he whispered back. “Yeah, but I spend my time helping other people change their appearances. Can’t all be as lucky as me, huh?” she shooed him away, winking. </p><p>Stay safe and be well :) &lt;3</p><p>My Tiktok: @aminobean<br/>My Tumblr: crystxllizxd</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Bonus: Lavender, Parvati, and Luna on the Walk to Looe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Set during the events of Chapter 5.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This isn't new, it was originally in the middle of chapter 5 but I felt like it totally didn't belong there and just stuck out, so here it is instead, as a bonus.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>As the details of the bet were being laid out, Lavender and Parvati were walking together at the back of the group. Summery dresses floated around their knees. Lavender’s dark ringlets bounced, catching the sunlight in them. Parvati still felt butterflies when she looked at Lavender. She willed herself to focus on the conversation at hand: what their ideal careers would be</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honestly, Mum always said I could be an actress.” Lavender said thoughtfully. “My flair for the dramatic and all.” She touched the scar on her face gently and bit her lip. “Could you see me giving an interview about my new film in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Witch Weekly?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I really could, Lavs. You’d be stunning, and some much-needed diversity in that blasted magazine.” Parvati looked at her girlfriend very seriously. They had both been avid fans of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Witch Weekly </span>
  </em>
  <span>growing up, with its fashion advice, gossip columns, and extensive celebrity news. As they got older, though, the magazine became something of a joke to them for its dedication to white models, actresses, and writers. They mused that the magazine’s catchphrase should really have been ‘the premier magazine for the modern </span>
  <em>
    <span>white </span>
  </em>
  <span>witch.’ </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay now do me, what do you see me as?” Parvati posed sillily with her hands on her hips, tossing her silky hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A model,” Lavender giggled. They fell into a momentary silence, and then looked at each other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A model….” Parvati repeated, her eyes wide. She gripped Lavender’s hand, and Lavender squeezed back. “That actually sounds so fun! Both of us on the pages of a magazine...do you think we can change Witch Weekly that much? Influence the editor’s board, or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luna appeared from nowhere, as she had the uncanny ability to do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why change Witch Weekly?” Luna asked. “Why not start new?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Start new?” Lavender repeated, looking at Luna wondrously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“A new magazine!” Parvati clapped her hands excitedly. “Gossip, celebrity, fashion, makeup, the works. And Luna, we can feature your practical fashion ideas in it, too! You can get involved after you finish school! God, we’ll be so different from </span>
  <em>
    <span>Witch Weekly</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll actually have Black and brown people in it, we would have loved that when we were younger, wouldn’t we? We can write about products and issues that matter to </span>
  <em>
    <span>us.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Lavender beamed at Parvati. “Luna, are you in to help us? You’ve got knowledge of how publications work and all. And we love you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luna smiled at her shoes and nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad can help us find connections in the publishing world, although they may be a bit odd to you all..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, who cares!” Parvati rolled her eyes. </span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>They continued strolling, discussing the magazine further. Parvati felt a warm rush of affection for the Ravenclaw girl by them, and a small twinge of residual guilt from the years she had spent judging Luna. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The past year had changed a lot between the three of them. Luna had found a new talent when she had begun commentating the Quidditch matches during her fifth year. It felt quite nice to have people laughing at what she was saying with joy, rather than cruelty. Unfortunately, all Quidditch matches were cancelled in the following fall, in Death Eater-run Hogwarts. One evening, some of the DA had been apprehended by Alecto Carrow while they were patrolling the corridors for attacks against muggle-born students. After being reported to Headmaster Snape, they sat through a torturously long and pointless lecture as “punishment”. Seamus had a Weasley’s Wizarding Wheeze on him, a pack of small round candies that silently bounced very high in the air. Him and Dean seemed to be trying to bounce them directly into a mug on Snape’s desk without Snape noticing. Neville, Luna, Parvati, and Lavender spent the entire half-hour trying desperately not to burst into laughter as the greasy headmaster paced around droning, his robes swishing around him. When they all finally jostled their way out of his office, they immediately erupted in laughter. And then Luna began narrating. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And the sallow, unwashed man continues to emit his foul odor as he walks to one side of the room, oblivious to the game at play…” she spoke into the fake-microphone that Parvati held out for her. She continued as if the lecture was a Quidditch highlight reel. “Finnigan passes the ball to Thomas, who focuses on the task at hand…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group dissolved into giggles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, you’re better than this at commentating the actual Quidditch games?” Neville had said, wiping tears from his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>brilliant!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Lavender cried, and Parvati nodded rapidly in agreement. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Apologies had been made later for their treatment of Luna growing up, which Luna dismissed with a wave of her hand. She genuinely meant it, too, the lack of care for their former bad behavior. Gifts were very rare that semester, as owls were limited in and out of Hogwarts. After Luna did her detention with Hagrid for trying to steal the Sword of Gryffindor, she brought back leaves from magical plants that she had found on the forest grounds that she said reminded her of each of the people in the DA. Parvati got a pink one that curled at its edges beautifully, like lace, and Lavender got a sky-blue one that was translucent enough to let light through. The leaves were framed and put up on their apartment wall now. Any lazy afternoons stolen to spend on the grounds that school year involved Luna sprawled on the grass beside them, commentating on their surroundings, on the Dementors, on the Carrows—it never got old. In the spring, when Luna had been kidnapped, the entire school felt empty to Parvati and Lavender. It was good to have Luna back. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you have any suggestions, please let me know! This is my first proper fic.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>